Weekly News Summary For February 11-17, 2008:
A budget proposal that would resurrect a lockage fee on barges that ply the inland and intracoastal waterways while phasing out the 20 cents a gallon tax on diesel fuel imposed on the barge and towing industry was unveiled February 4 by President Bush.
The proposed fee, which is supposed to yield about $167 million to replenish a declining Inland Waterways Trust Fund, was part of a fiscal year 2009 budget offered for the civil works program of the Army Corps of Engineers. The president’s proposal seeks $4.7 billion (down from $4.9 billion this fiscal year) for the civil works program and an additional “emergency request” for $5.8 billion to complete levee and other Katrina-related work still remaining in the New Orleans area.
The amount of the fee would be tied to the level of spending for inland waterways construction, replacement, expansion and rehabilitation work. According to Waterways Council Inc., the fee would be phased in beginning October 1, and increased each year through December 31, 2012. Automatic adjustments to the fee would be made annually beginning in 2013, based on the total net assets in the Inland Waterways Trust Fund, the council added.
John Paul Woodley Jr., assistant secretary of the Army (civil works), speaking at a press conference shortly after the president sent Congress his total budget request for $3.1 trillion in fiscal 2009, said the Waterways Trust Fund was “getting down to between $100 and $200 million, I think. I think we’re asking to pull out $169 million in ’09 and that’s going to pretty much exhaust—in fact, that will more than exhaust it unless we get some enhanced revenues.”…
Representatives of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and Lockheed Martin met with stakeholders at the Port of New Orleans February 1 to discuss problems—being called “TWICups” by industry—with the Transportation Workers Identification Credential (TWIC) program.
Maurine Fanguy, TWIC program director, along with Alan Bloodgood, director, and Stacy Bonnah-DeMoss, operations manager-Homeland Security Solutions for Lockheed Martin Transportation and Security Solutions, fielded a number of questions from a cross section of industry representatives, taking notes on issues to be addressed.
Similar meetings with stakeholders are held nationwide frequently.
Lt. Devon S. Brennan, of the Coast Guard Headquarters’ TWIC Implementation Branch, was also present for questions.
“This is the largest program of its kind in the world,” Fanguy told the group. “Congress mandated the program, but appropriated no funds, so the attempt is being made to keep costs down.” Costs will be borne by fees charged to applicants. Lockheed Martin is paid $43.25 per person enrolled….
In 2003, the River Industry Action Committee (RIAC), under the direction of chairman Raymond Hopkins, took a renewed interest in helping the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the National Weather Service (NWS) improve river stage forecasting. The primary objective was to address fluctuations in river flow and communicate the need for an accurate minimum flow estimate that could better help barge operators determine safe operating drafts.
RIAC members were pleased to find a receptive audience in the St. Paul, Rock Island and St. Louis engineer districts of the Corps.
“The Corps has always done a fabulous job operating the locks and improving the navigation channel, so I was delighted to learn that they were actively involved in forecasting,” said Hopkins.
To Hopkins, the fact that the Corps was involved meant that there was a real chance for open communication and positive change.
They also needed the cooperation of the NWS, which they got. The NWS is actually the agency legally responsible for issuing river forecasts. The Corps has the responsibility of developing a forecast to provide project operation information and project flow to the NWS.
They started scheduling meetings. The first meeting was in Jeffersonville, Ind. in November 2003. Meetings continued on an irregular basis. In January 2007, members of RIAC met the commanders of all three districts. In October, members of RIAC met with top executives of the Mississippi Valley Engineer Division in Vicksburg, Miss., for a progress update and to reiterate the importance of accurate river stage forecasts for safe and efficient river operations….
Some 170 delegates at the 2008 World Trade and Transport Conference held in New Orleans on January 30 through February 1 were told prospects for the transportation industry look good for the upcoming year.
Sponsored by the Mississippi Valley Trade & Transport Council, the conference was held at the Marriott Hotel.
“I really don’t see a recession coming,” said Timothy Ryan, a respected economist and chancellor of the University of New Orleans, in the keynote address.
While he calls himself a “bit of a contrarian on the U.S. economy,” Ryan said the real gross domestic product has increased and “we are still seeing economic growth.” What he did caution about was how quickly information travels in this information age, and how wrong it can be very often….
While the idea is not new, only one inland operator has ventured to put Z-Drives on towboats. Many that have flirted with the idea wanted to do so with conventional hulls so that the Z-Drives could be replaced with the traditional hydraulic steering, rudders, shafts, reduction gears, bearings and stuffing boxes if the experiment failed. The industry is still skeptical.
However, Southern Towing Company, Memphis, Tenn., led by Bill Stegbauer, president, hopes to prove that Z-Drives have a future on the inland rivers with four new boats being built by Steiner Shipyard Inc., in Bayou la Batre, Ala. The first boat is expected to be completed by early summer. The hulls of the boats are 120 by 34 by 10-1/2 feet, powered by a pair of 1,600 hp Cummins Tier 2 QSK50 engines with hospital-grade silencers. There are a number of differences between this boat and the normal design, but the most striking is that HRP model 6111WM Z-Drives will be installed. The Z-Drives were provided by HRP Thruster Systems….
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