Waterways Infrastructure News

Jennifer Carpenter joined The American Waterways Operators (AWO), the national trade association representing the inland and coastal tugboat, towboat and barge industry, in August 1990 and became its president and CEO in January 2020. She highlights some of the greatest focus areas for the 80-year-old trade group—simultaneously looking at both the present day and the road ahead.The towboat, tug and barge industry is in a period of rapid evolution. How is AWO—now in its 80th year…

Demopolis Lock—which suffered a recent catastrophic failure—is a cautionary tale for other locks and those in Congress and the White House who may fail to see the urgency and importance of investing in the inland waterways system.The nation’s inland waterways lock and dam infrastructure, largely constructed in the 1930s, has seen modernization and rehabilitation across the system, albeit very slowly. Despite those efforts, lock failures continue, and the risk of failure persists.While…

Jennifer Carpenter has been president and CEO of The American Waterways Operators (AWO) in January 2020, but her time with the national trade association representing the inland and coastal tugboat, towboat and barge industry dates back to 1990. This month, she weighs in on top challenges and opportunities currently present in the industry, from difficult regulatory changes to the uptake of cleaner vessel technologies.What are some of the biggest and most important issues facing the tug, towboat and barge industry?Big picture, I feel like our industry has never been more relevant.

I. MoneyNo one ever said it’s easy to understand federal budgets and spending plans. Nevertheless, a general sense of clarity and straightforwardness is critical for any review of public expenditures. This becomes more pressing when tracking revenue and expenditures linked to specific users’ fees, such as the $0.29/gallon fuel tax, paid by inland waterways operators. In 2021, the Inland Waterways Trust Fund (IWTF) held $221.5 million, money earmarked to build, maintain and operate…

The list of projects on the United States’ inland waterways infrastructure to-do list is seemingly never-ending as the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) continuously works to maintain, repair and, when possible, upgrade aging locks and dams throughout America’s vast network of navigable rivers.But there’s been progress toward modernizing the system, especially in recent years amid steadily rising annual appropriations that fund the Corps’ Civil Works mission, and Construction…

As 2022 moves into its final months, low water levels and drought form the basis of the news impacting inland waterways operators and barge companies. In the first week of October, numerous barges were reported grounded in the Mississippi River, particularly south of Baton Rouge. This has consequences: barge rates jumped 218% in St. Louis, compared to 2021.Low water was so severe that on October 7 Ingram Barge CEO John Roberts issued a force majeure notice (force majeure - unforeseeable…

The U.S. Department of Transportation announced that Rear Admiral (Rear Adm.) Ann Phillips, USN, Ret., has been confirmed and sworn in as the 20th Administrator of the Maritime Administration (MARAD). Nominated by President Biden on October 21, 2021, Rear Adm. Phillips was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on May 10, 2022. She is the first woman to lead MARAD as administrator.“From her distinguished naval service to her leadership on coastal infrastructure, Rear Admiral Ann Phillips has championed America’s maritime sector throughout her career,” said Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.

Jennifer Carpenter joined The American Waterways Operators (AWO), the national trade association representing the inland and coastal tugboat, towboat and barge industry, in August 1990 and became its president and CEO in January 2020. She weighs in some of the most important developments in the industry today, from “hugely exciting” opportunities in offshore wind , tech innovation and decarbonization, to labor and recruitment challenges.The recent Infrastructure bill is a huge boost for many industries…

Waterway traffic is coming back. November 2021 saw 52.1 million tons moving on the U.S. inland waterway system, the highest monthly tonnage since October 2019, a few months before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the shutdowns and stoppages of early 2020. Flows estimated by the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS), part of the U.S. Department of Transportation, based on data from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) show a 25% rise from June 2020. Data in a presentation by The Waterways Council Inc (WCI)…

The U.S. Army on Wednesday announced  the Civil Works studies, projects and programs that the Corps would implement in Fiscal Year 2022 with the $22.81 billion in supplemental funding provided in two recently enacted laws — the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act; and the 2022 Disaster Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act.The spend plan supports the Administration hitting the ground running by focusing on current Fiscal Year 2022 spending. Future announcements will provide spend plans for subsequent years.

The American Waterways Operators, a trade group representing the U.S. tugboat, towboat and barge industry, said it applauds the passage of the bipartisan infrastructure bill, H.R. 3684, signed into law by President Joe Biden earlier this week.The bill contains $17 billion for ports and waterways, including $2.5 billion of 100% federal funding for inland waterways construction and major rehabilitation projects, $4 billion for U.S. Army Corps of Engineers operations and maintenance…

The $1 trillion infrastructure package headed to President Joe Biden to sign into law will provide a welcome funding injection for America’s inland waterway infrastructure.The bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act was approved by Congress on November 6 and is expected to be signed by President Biden next week. The plan has money for everything from roads, bridges, ports and rail transit, to safe water, the power grid, broadband internet and more, including $2.5 billion…

Jennifer Carpenter joined The American Waterways Operators (AWO), the national trade association representing the inland and coastal tugboat, towboat and barge industry, in August 1990 and became its president and CEO in January 2020. She weighs in on the unprecedented challenges encountered over the past year and addresses top priorities along the uncertain path ahead.The world has changed drastically in the year since you took the helm at AWO. How have priorities shifted, both…

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.

Waterways Council, Inc. (WCI) President and CEO Michael J. Toohey has revealed plans to retire, the group announced to its Board of Directors and members at its meeting in Washington, DC on Wednesday.“Having turned 71 this month, I believe it is time to focus on my faith, family, my golf handicap and my other interests,” Toohey said. “I remain committed to WCI’s continued achievement now and in the future once a successor is named.”WCI’s Executive Committee will select an executive search firm to begin the process to seek a successor.

In today’s environment, the overarching challenge for the American tugboat, towboat and barge industry is to continue transporting the vital commodities that help keep our nation’s economy moving during a highly uncertain time, while taking all necessary measures to ensure the health and safety of our workforce as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to evolve – in other words, to ensure business continuity, while recognizing we are not, nor can we be, going about business as usual.

As the nation continues to be impacted by COVID-19, there are silver linings to the crisis: family time and togetherness, gratitude for what we had before it was taken away, and a chance to seek opportunities to be better and more productive.As funding bills related to the COVID-19 crisis move forward, there may be an opportunity for the nation to better itself by modernizing its infrastructure.Congress has, to date as of this writing, passed three phases of a coronavirus relief package.

Waterways Council, Inc. (WCI) is the national public policy organization that advocates for a modern, efficient inland waterways system. Abiding by our mission has meant success over our 17-year history. In 2020, WCI’s top priority is to conform the cost-share for Inland Waterways Trust Fund (IWTF)-financed construction projects to require 25% of the project cost be derived from the IWTF and the remaining 75% from General Revenues. The policy vehicle for this adjustment is the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA)…

Jennifer A. Carpenter serves as President & CEO of The American Waterways Operators (AWO), the national trade association representing the inland and coastal tugboat, towboat and barge industry. Carpenter joined AWO in August 1990 and became President & CEO in January 2020. Before assuming her current position, she worked her way up the hawsepipe from Government Affairs Assistant to Executive Vice President & Chief Operating Officer, holding a series of progressively responsible positions including Manager-Regulatory Issues…

Arthur F. Mead, Vice President and Chief Counsel at Crowley Maritime Corporation, has been elected Chairman of the American Waterways Operators (AWO), succeeding outgoing Chairman Scott Merritt, former Chief Operating Officer with Foss Maritime Company, LLC.Members of the national tugboat, towboat and barge industry association elected a new slate of leaders this week during the association's Spring Board of Directors / Annual Membership Meeting, which was held virtually due to COVID-19 precautionary measures that resulted in the meeting not taking place in Washington…

USDA Study Underscores Value of Inland Waterways to U.S. Agriculture.On August 28, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue and Assistant Secretary of the Army (ASA) for Civil Works R.D. James toured Mel Price Locks and Dam in Alton, Illinois, and held a Town Hall Meeting to discuss the importance of the waterways,  agriculture and the U.S. economy. At the event, Secretary Perdue briefed agricultural and waterways stakeholders on a newly released study – Importance of Inland Waterways to U.S. Agriculture – from the U.S.

U.S. farmers and agribusinesses, as well as the overall U.S. economy and balance of trade, depend upon and benefit from the inland waterways and its infrastructure, which provide the safest, lowest-cost and most environmentally sustainable and fuel-efficient way to move grain and other agricultural products.The National Grain and Feed Association (NGFA) and Waterways Council, Inc. (WCI) have commended the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) for releasing a significant new study that quantifies the cost-savings and competitive advantages that would accrue from investing in long-delayed improvements to inland waterways locks and dams on the Upper Mississippi and Illinois River system.The study, entitled, Importance of Inland Waterways to U.S.

With developments in the current health crisis almost entirely consuming nearly all news reporting, one could be forgiven for thinking that the members of Congress are thinking about and working on little else, and that even if they were, the divisive partisanship of recent years would doom the prospects of much else getting done. Happily, that is not the case for the nation’s inland waterways. Both houses of Congress are diligently working on maintaining the momentum of passing a Water Resources and Development Act (WRDA) every two years…