Environment Subcommittee News

The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, Water Resources and Environment Subcommittee, held a third Water Resources and Development Act (WRDA) hearing on March 16, providing a chance for Representatives to seek local project funding.Committee Chairman Peter DeFazio (OR-4), in opening remarks, noted large recent spending increases for water projects, e.g., the new infrastructure bill and harbor trust fund policy changes in WRDA 2020. Still, he commented that even this new money cannot pay for the backlog of the Corps’ projects.

We recently checked in with Tracy Zea, Waterways Council Inc.’s new President & CEO, on what’s in store for the U.S. inland waterways for the remainder of 2020.To start, give us some insight on your background and how you came to lead WCI.I was born and raised in Chandler, Ariz., and attended South Dakota State University, receiving a degree in Political Science. After college, I found my way to Washington, D.C. via an internship with Senator Thune (R-S.D.). After the internship, I was hired by the House of Representatives, Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.

The U.S. House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure voted the Water Resources Development Act of 2020 (WRDA 2020) favorably out of Committee, Wednesday. The legislation, which provides authority for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) to carry out water resources development projects and studies, as well as policy direction to the Corps for implementation of its Civil Works missions, now heads to the House Floor for a vote.Maritime trade groups Waterways Council, Inc. (WCI) and the American Waterways Operators (AWO) applauded the House T&I bill (H.R.

The U.S. House of Representatives voted 253-166 Wednesday to eliminate a recent Obama Administration rule that gives the federal government new authority to regulate virtually all waters or wet areas in the United States. The House approved S. J. Res 22, a resolution of congressional disapproval that vacates the Administration’s rule, published on June 29, 2015, to broaden the definition under federal law of “waters of the United States” (WOTUS) and expand federal regulatory power under the Clean Water Act. The Senate approved S. J. Res 22 in November, and it now goes to the President’s desk.

On May 22, the Water Resources Reform Development Act (WRRDA) of 2014, containing major recommendations of the Capital Development Plan (CDP), was passed by a vote 91-7 in the Senate. As MarineNews was going to press, President Obama finally signed the bill into law. The conference agreement had passed the House on May 20 by an overwhelming 412-4 vote. The bill contains four key elements of the Capital Development Plan that were included in the House WAVE 4 (H.R. 1149) and Senate RIVER Act (S.

Urges President’s Signature into Law. Waterways Council, Inc. (WCI) today celebrated the passage of the Water Resources Reform Development Act (WRRDA) of 2014, containing major recommendations of the Capital Development Plan (CDP*). WCI urges the President to sign the bill into law. The conference agreement passed the House on Tuesday by an overwhelming 412-4 vote. Today’s Senate passage by a strong vote of 91-7 underscores the strong bi-partisan effort to enact the critical water resources bill.

The Conference Report to H.R. 3080, the Water Resources Reform and Development Act (WRRDA), was filed in the U.S. House of Representatives today, introduced in the House by Committee Chairman Bill Shuster (R-Pa.), Committee Ranking Member Nick J. Rahall, II (D-W.Va.), Water Resources and Environment Subcommittee Chairman Bob Gibbs (R-Ohio), and Subcommittee Ranking Member Tim Bishop (D-N.Y.). H.R. 3080 passed the House by a vote of 417 to 3 on October 23, 2013. House and Senate conferees reached agreement on a final measure last week, and now both Houses of Congress must approve the Conference Report in order to send it to the President to be signed into law.

The American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA)  lauded leaders of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, leaders of its Water Resources and Environment Subcommittee and Speaker of the House John Boehner (R-OH) for their efforts in advancing H.R. 3080, the Water Resources Reform and Development Act (WRRDA). The House passed the legislation by a vote of 417 to 3. “AAPA commends T & I Committee Chairman (Bill) Shuster (R-PA), Ranking Member (Nick) Rahall (D-WV)…

May 15, 2013 was a very good day for the nation’s barge and towing operators, as well as shippers of grain, coal, chemicals, petroleum products, aggregate materials, and agri-input products. It was also a good day for our nation’s economy and for its consumers. The Senate passed, by a vote of 83-14, a long-overdue Water Resources Development Act (WRDA), last reauthorized in 2007. Six years may not seem like a long time to await action on Capitol Hill. But since 57% of the locks and dams on the nation’s inland waterways system have exceeded their economic design life expectancy of 50 years…

Peter Stephaich, Chairman of Campbell Transportation Company in Pittsburgh, PA, and Executive Committee member of Waterways Council, Inc. Mr. Stephaich addressed the importance of water resources development legislation, the current broken model for modernizing the nation’s locks and dams, and the need for adoption of the Capital Development Plan (CDP), which is H.R. 1149, Waterways are Vital  to our Economy, Energy, Efficiency and the Environment (WAVE 4) to remedy problems with the current water resources development approach. H.R.

Testifying for the American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA) before the U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee’s Water Resources and Environment Subcommittee in a hearing titled “Foundations for a New Water Resources Development Act,”  Duluth Seaway Port Authority Executive Director and AAPA U.S. Delegation Chairman Adolph Ojard laid out three key areas that AAPA believes should be addressed in the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) legislation currently being considered by Congress that would result in real benefits to the nation. First is bill language that would ensure federal Harbor Maintenance Tax revenues are fully used each year. Second is to make the U.S.

The U.S. House Energy & Water Appropriations Subcommittee, chaired by Representative Rodney Frelinghuysen (R-N.J.), today approved its fiscal 2013 funding bill for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, including a $1 billion draw from the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund for maintaining America’s deep-draft navigation channels and harbors. This would be the largest regular annual appropriation for navigation maintenance. “While still less than the need for full use of the Harbor Maintenance Tax (HMT)…

House Water Resources & Environment Subcommittee agrees investments needed. At a hearing today of the U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee’s Water Resources and Environment Subcommittee, AAPA Chairman of the Board Jerry Bridges, who also serves as executive director of the Virginia Port Authority, testified on the economic importance of seaports. Subtitled “Is the United States Prepared for 21st Century Trade Realities?”, the hearing focused exclusively on the economic contributions of U.S.

WCI President testified before House Water Resources & Environment Subcommittee on substantial economic importance of inland waterways system navigation projects, once completed, will provide jobs and billions of dollars for american economy. Michael J. Toohey, President and CEO of Waterways Council, Inc. (WCI), testified today before the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee’s Water Resources and Environment Subcommittee on “The Economic Importance and Financing Challenges of Recapitalizing the Nation’s Inland Waterways Transportation System.”  Mr.

The American Waterways Operators (AWO), the national trade association for the tugboat, towboat, and barge industry, urged members of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee to enact legislation that establishes a national framework for the regulation of vessel discharges at a Congressional hearing yesterday morning. Testifying before the House Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation and the Water Resources and Environment Subcommittees on behalf of the Shipping Industry Coalition, AWO President & CEO Thomas Allegretti told lawmakers that the current patchwork of authorities with respect to vessel discharges regulation is antithetical to environmental protection and economic growth. Under the current system, the U.S.

Rep. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) last week introduced the “Stop Oil Spills Act,” a bill to fund research into new oil spill prevention and response technologies. Following BP CEO Tony Hayward’s admission that his company did not have a “tool-kit” to respond to a sizeable spill from a deep-water well, Markey introduced the bill to create a research program to develop 21st century oil safety and spill response technologies. “As the big oil companies have continued to push the limits to drill ultra-deep…

Witnesses representing the shipping industry, ports, and an environmental organization met on May 15 to urge the development of mandatory federal ballast water management regulations and alternative management options to more effectively address the problem of aquatic invasive species in the United States. The joint hearing of the U.S. House Water Resources and Environment Subcommittee and the Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Subcommittee focused on the implementation of the National Invasive Species Act of 1996 (NISA), which addresses aquatic invasive species and required the Transportation Secretary to issue voluntary guidelines to prevent the introduction of invasive species by vessels equipped with ballast water tanks.

The Administration's proposed tax to pay for harbor dredging is not a viable or equitable solution to funding navigation channel maintenance at the nation's ports, says the American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA). AAPA and others testified at a House Water Resources and Environment Subcommittee Hearing on the Administration's Harbor Services Fund (HSF) proposal, H. R. 1947. The plan creates a new tax on vessels to replace the Harbor Maintenance Tax, the export-tax portion of which was declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in 1998. The administration proposal, submitted to Congress, but not yet introduced as a bill, would…

After a successful floor vote in the U.S. House of Representatives today to approve passage of a Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) authorization bill, American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA) President/CEO Kurt Nagle applauded committee and subcommittee leaders for championing the legislation, noting that this is a prelude to conference and final passage of one of the most critically-needed authorization bills of this session. “America’s ports depend upon a regular, biennial cycle of new project authorizations to improve federal navigation channels to accommodate calls from a modern world fleet of deep-draft ships,” remarked Nagle. Nagle said that AAPA and its U.S.

While seaports that handle ocean-going ships often garner headlines for their security and environmental programs, and cargo and passenger handling news, the role and benefits of the world’s vast inland waterway systems are not as well known. However, shallow-draft waterways and ports, which primarily accommodate towboats, barges, pleasure craft and touring vessels, are an integral part of a nation’s maritime system and serve as an economic and jobs generator. With its inaugural Shallow-Draft Ports seminar slated for the Sheraton Station Square Hotel in Pittsburgh, Pa., on Oct. 5-6, the American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA) hopes to improve the maritime industry’s understanding of inland waterways and ports, and point out ways to better utilize them.

At a joint hearing of the USCG and Maritime Transportation Subcommittee and the Water Resources and Environment Subcommittee of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, AWO President Tom Allegretti testified the maritime industry is moving more oil safely than ever before. The hearing, held on the tenth anniversary of the Exxon Valdez oil spill, sought to expore the effectiveness of OPA 90. Allegretti testified OPA 90 launched a process that is dramatically working to reduce spills and the risk of spills. According to the USCG, in 1990, tankbarges moved 72 billion gllons of oil, spilling 992,000. However, in 1997, tankbarges moved roughly the same amoung - 71.5 billion gallons - whjile spilling only 166,000 gallons, resulting in 83 percent less oil spilled.