INLAND WATERWAYS
WRRDA IS A WIN! ON MAY 15, WATERWAYS COUNCIL, Inc. (WCI) praised the final conference agreement reached on the Water Resources Reform Development Act (WRRDA) of 2014, which contained four major recommendations of the Capital Development Plan (CDP). The bill (H.R. 3080) passed the House overwhelmingly by a vote of 412-4 on May 20, 2014, and the Senate by a vote of 91-7 on May 22, 2014. The CDP is a comprehensive consensus package of recommendations to improve the continued vitality of the inland waterways that was developed in concert with the Congressionally-chartered Inland Waterways Users Board and United States Army Corps of Engineers. The CDP elements in WRRDA were: OLMSTED FEDERALIZATION: permanent cost-sharing for the remaining cost of the Olmsted project will be 85% General Fund, 15% Inland Waterways Trust Fund, freeing up approximately $105 million per year for funding other Trust Fund priority projects with Olmsted funded at $150 million per year. DEFINITION OF MAJOR REHABILITATION PROJECT ELIGIBLE FOR INLAND WATERWAYS TRUST FUND: increased from current
law level of $14 million to $20 million and adjusted annually for inflation. PRIORITIZATION OF PROJECTS: based upon risk of failure and economic benefit to the Nation (as proposed by the CDP). PROJECT DELIVERY PROCESS REFORMS:
based upon CDP-recommended reforms to achieve on-time and on-budget performance. The WRRDA bill also established annual target appropriations levels for increased spending of funds from the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund (HMTF) leading to full use of HMTF funds by 2025. WCI’s members, the nation’s towboat operators, shippers, labor, port, conservation and agriculture group members that rely on an efficient, modern, viable waterways system, were deeply grateful for the news of this strong, long-awaited WRRDA bill. They particularly recognized the strong, bi-partisan leadership of Senate Environment & Public Works Committee Chairman Barbara Boxer and Ranking 6 MARINE LOG June 2014
Member David Vitter; House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee Chairman Bill Shuster, Vice Chairman Congressman Jimmy Duncan, and Ranking Member Nick Rahall; House Water Resources and Environment Subcommittee Chairman Bob Gibbs and Ranking Member Tim Bishop; RIVER Act (S. 407) sponsors Senators Mary Landrieu, Lamar Alexander, Amy Klobuchar, Tom Harkin, and Al Franken, led by lead sponsor Senator Bob Casey; and WAVE 4 (H.R. 1149) lead co-sponsors Congressman Ed Whitfield and Congressman Dan Lipinski, along with 31 co-sponsors. This WRRDA bill will create American jobs, increase exports, keep our nation competitive in world markets, and enhance the reliability of the nation’s waterways transportation mode and supply chain. Fiscal Year 2015 appropriations levels, which will be announced later this month,
Last month, the Water Resources Reform Development Act of 2014 passed both the House and Senate by an overwhelming majority
Michael J. Toohey, President/CEO, Waterways Council, Inc.
must be robust to implement the policies of the WRRDA bill, and WCI will continue to press for appropriate funding for the Corps’ important Civil Works mission. The last major element of the CDP that must be addressed by Congress is an increase to the diesel fuel user fee. House Ways & Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp included a 6-cent increase to the user fee in his February 26, 2014 discussion draft of a tax reform bill. Senate Finance Committee member Senator Bob Casey introduced an amendment to increase the user fee by 9 cents in the tax extenders bill in early April, but withdrew it when it was ruled non-germane. He and others will seek to add the amendment to the first appropriate revenue bill. Finally, we can say that the inland waterways industry—and the nation—has won with the passage of WRRDA. We urge and expect President Obama to sign it into law. ■