Weekly News Summary For January 23-29, 2006:
Washington, D.C.—R. Barry Palmer, president and chief executive officer of Waterways Council Inc., expressing confidence that the Water Resources Development Act was on the right track for congressional approval, listed the council’s four key objectives for this year.
At a briefing for reporters in the Washington, D.C., area, Palmer said January 18 that the council will urge Congress to spend dedicated funds in the Inland Waterways Trust Fund at no less than $150 million. Another objective for this year will be a push for a $100 million increase for critical operation and maintenance needs on the inland waterways system.
Continuing with the council’s objectives, Palmer said the group will press for authorization of eight lock and dam modernization projects on the Upper Mississippi and Illinois rivers, and Bayou Sorrell on the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway; and lobby against any new taxes or fees on the inland waterways industry.
“These priorities will keep our national waterways system efficient, and our nation’s transportation system economically competitive,” Palmer said.
Looking back over this past year, Palmer said that in 2005, the waterways industry “achieved a number of important milestones.” Among other things, he said, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ civil works program received the highest level of funding in its history, and $379 million was appropriated for inland waterways trust fund-financed projects.
The downside is that little of the money accumulating in the trust fund—it reached $353 million at the beginning of this fiscal year—has been released over the last decade to complete 13 lock and dam modernization projects on the inland waterways system. As a result, Palmer said, the construction schedule for those projects has slipped….
Trinity Industries announced its Trinity Marine subsidiary reached a long-term agreement to provide barges to Ingram Barge Company on January 12.
The contract calls for the construction of dry cargo units for a number of years. The terms were not disclosed except that the agreement protects Trinity with cost escalation coverage….
The America’s River partnership, which includes the National Mississippi River Museum and Aquarium, city of Dubuque, Dubuque Area Chamber of Commerce, Dubuque County and Greater Dubuque Development Corporation, is now in the process of developing their next phase of projects, America’s River Phase II.
This expansion of the National Mississippi River Museum and Aquarium will be based on the story of the Mississippi River and the rivers of America. Plans include expanding the Smithsonian-affiliate museum facility to encompass the stories of the rivers of America, experiential learning, the creation of a national river research and conservation center and the stories of other globally significant rivers.
The first components of the master expansion plan include both a large-screen theater and a 42,000-square-foot exhibit museum and research center. Adjacent to the theater will be space for exhibits that tell the story of the rivers across America and how those rivers affect the Gulf of Mexico and the oceans into which they flow.
The new museum will also include a children’s splash zone, a learning facility for families with young children. The museum also wants to provide eco-tours to the mines of Spain. A saltwater aquarium will exhibit sharks, jellyfish, coral reef and other life of the Gulf of Mexico, teaching about the impact of the Mississippi River on the Gulf of Mexico including the “dead zone,” which is caused by an excess of nutrients in the runoff from the Midwestern lands….
The amount of water stored in the Missouri River reservoirs has increased compared to this time last year, the Northwestern Engineer Division reports. The runoff outlook for the basin in 2006 is mixed, however, as the storage in the reservoir system declined slightly in December, but the mountain snowpack is running slightly above normal.
“We are pleased that the mountain snowpack is above normal for this time of year,” said Larry Cieslik, chief of the Corps’ Missouri River water management office in Omaha, Neb. The snowpack is 111 percent of normal in the reach above Fort Peck and 102 percent in the reach from Fort Peck to Garrison, essentially the Yellowstone River basin.
“But we have to be mindful that only about 42 percent of the snowpack occurs by the first of the year as it normally peaks near mid-April,” Cieslik said. “So, the total runoff we will receive from the mountain snowpack is still very much an open question,” he said.
The new year along the river in Paducah began with several vessel ownership and name changes and a new delivery, all taking place within the first two weeks of January.
The 2,800 hp. Norma Kellum began the new year under new ownership following its sale to Cooper Marine and Timberlands of Mobile, Ala. Marine operations manager John Stokes told the WJ the firm bought the boat from KWK LLC of Olive Branch, Miss., on January 4.
The 132- by 34-foot vessel was on drydock at James Marine January 4 following its sale and was quickly put back to work for its new owners. It was built in 1957 by American Marine Corporation in New Orleans as the James Bowie for Commercial Transport. In 1971 the boat was sold to Hines Inc., which renamed it Duncan L. Hines in honor of the popular food critic. In 1992 it was absorbed into the ACBL fleet through the acquisition of Hines, which became Hines American Line, Inc. ACBL sold the boat to KWK LLC in 2004.
The 49-year-old vessel’s original GM 12-567 diesels were replaced in 1983 with a pair of GM 12-645 diesels, rated at 2,800 hp.
Stokes said the boat will be placed in a new coal run from Pride, Ala., to Mobile along the Tennessee River and Tombigbee Waterway. He said it will also be utilized in the wood chip trade where the company has been active for many years. The boat’s length and power will be appreciated when the Tombigbee gets nasty in high water with its strong currents, Stokes said….
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