Editorial: It's Déjà Vu Time Again, But Hope Springs Eternal

The Waterways Journal "State of the Industry" issue bannered on January 17 the headline: "Optimism Abounds for Barge Industry In 2005." At about the same time, Waterways Council Inc. (WCI) was reporting steps that could lead to smarter investments to maintain waterway reliability and to assess their performance. So it's déjà vu all over again, but this time hope springs eternal in the riverman's breast.

Corps budgets are tighter or flat at best, said Michael B. White, the Corps of Engineers' chief of operations, when he addressed the annual meeting of the Transportation Research Board (TRB) recently. His task was to summarize the current realities confronting the inland navigation program.

Faced with an aging system and unscheduled outages, planners are scrambling to focus high-level attention on the condition of the locks and dams and channels. The purpose is to develop new ways to measure their performance in order to make "smarter investments," White said.

There is more good attention being focused on waterways by more government bodies right now than we've seen in a long time. Is that because the rest of the world is outspending us on navigable waterways, focusing on the environmental friendliness of barge transport and stealing some of our foreign trade thunder?

The National Academy of Sciences recommended in a 2004 report that the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) take the lead in monitoring and assessing the "use, condition, performance and demands" of the marine transportation system. The recommendation also seeks a mandate from Congress to produce such reports on a regular basis. Such reports are already done on a regular basis for highway and transit systems, WCI reports.

According to Mortimer L. Downey, president of PBConsult Inc. and a former deputy DOT secretary, the assessments are needed to provide "a stronger basis for decision-making." He said the reports would be "outcome-oriented—not a master plan." He maintains that "the administration has taken the view that we can only do what we can afford to do within the constraints of existing taxes." If the federal investment is "at a lower level, you are going to see a degraded performance," he added.

Thoughts that industry leaders have touted for decades are now getting serious attention.

DOT's Maritime Administration is beginning an inland waterways "condition and performance" report, WCI tells us. The agency received $1 million to undertake the review. More progress is reflected in a MarAd mini-grant that enables the Inland Rivers Ports & Terminals Inc. to develop a marketing plan for the inland waterways.

Yet more good news comes with the announcement of two additional $750,000 grants funded in the last omnibus bill. One will enable the Coalition of Alabama Waterways Associations, which includes five state river valley associations and the Alabama State Port Authority, to analyze the feasibility, opportunities and mechanics of expanding container-on-barge service on Alabama waterways and other freight mobility issues. The other enables the Great Lakes Maritime Research Institute to explore "improved mobility and regional supply-chain efficiency on the Great Lakes, including possible short sea shipping routes." The Institute is a joint effort of the University of Minnesota-Duluth and the University of Wisconsin-Superior.

And there are other good signs. Rep. Mike Ross (D-Ark.) declared at a meeting of the Mississippi Valley Flood Control Association's annual meeting last month that it is not just the amount of tonnage you carry on the rivers that count but the value of those tons. As it relates to tributary waterways, he likened river tributaries to Interstate highway ramps and asked, "How many cars would really be on Interstate highways if there were no exit ramps?"

Arlene L. Dietz, director of the Corps' Navigation Data Center, added additional meaning to Ross' statement. Speaking at the TRB conference, she said commerce that moves on the tributary waterways accounts for 65.8 percent of the total tonnage and 56.4 percent of the "trip ton-miles" on the entire inland system. Those are important figures for us to remember.

Failed policies have been highlighted as well. David V. Grier of the Institute of Water Resources reminded during a TRB conference that the ongoing "fix-as-fail" policies are resulting in the decline of waterway system reliability. His thoughts were reinforced by Michael White, who said, "if you do not have reliability there, you can't make business commitments and decisions." The Waterways Council reports that the increasing number of lock failures are alarming waterways system users.

The White House budget request for fiscal year 2006 is expected to hold down non-defense discretionary spending, but Sen. Christopher S. Bond (R-Mo.) is planning to introduce, perhaps as early as this week, a new Water Resources Development Act, hoping for quick consideration of the legislation. Hopefully the atmosphere will be right for action.

Finally, a provision in the recent multi-billion-dollar omnibus appropriations package continues a ban on the use of appropriated funds to do anything that would assist in divesting or transferring Corps civil works missions, functions, or responsibilities to other agencies without congressional authorization. Another gives the Office of Management and Budget only 60 days to "perform budgetary policy reviews of water resources matters on which the Chief of Engineers has reported." If the reviews are not made within the time frame stipulated, "Congress will assume OMB concurrence."

Does hope spring eternal, or doesn't it?

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