Weekly News Summary For April 12–18, 2010:
A report released April 7 by the Illinois Chamber of Commerce said that closing the Chicago and O’Brien locks permanently to keep out Asian carp would cost the Chicago-area economy $582 million the first year and $531 million annually for the next seven years. Losses could total $4.7 billion over 20 years.
The report, put together by DePaul University economist Joseph Schwieterman, differs sharply from a report commissioned by the state of Michigan and authored by Dr. John Taylor, an associate professor of supply chain management at Wayne State University, and James Roach.
The Taylor-Roach report, titled “Chicago Waterway System Ecological Separation: The Logistics and Transportation Related Cost Impact of Waterway Barriers,” was commissioned by Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox after the U.S. Supreme Court rejected his first request to close the locks with an injunction.
The Taylor-Roach report minimized the costs of lock closure to between $64 million and $69 million annually. It argued that closing the locks could increase jobs by requiring more trucks to carry cargo formerly carried by barge.
Taylor and Roach also authored another study purporting to show that banning salt-water vessels from the Great Lakes, to prevent importation of pests in ballast water, could also increase jobs—although that study stopped short of advocating closing the lakes.
Jim Farrell, executive director of the Illinois Chamber of Commerce, said the new study was necessary because the Taylor-Roach report, widely and eagerly cited by proponents of lock closure, remained the only public scholarly reference on the carp issue for two months….
Towing vessel examinations that are part of the bridging program leading to Subchapter M inspections of uninspected towing vessels (UTVs) have given both industry and the Coast Guard an opportunity to work together to understand existing rules.
Representatives of towing companies who responded to questions about the examinations were all positive about the exams, particularly the interaction it is bringing between companies and Coast Guard personnel.
The Coast Guard has been pro-active in holding “industry day” sessions to answer questions even before examiners were trained and sent to vessels. Two seminars that drew large crowds of towing executives were held by Sector Morgan City and the Marine Safety Unit in Baton Rouge.
Because of the volume of inspections that have to be made, many Coast Guard personnel are having to add vessel exams to their existing duties, making them new to the towing vessel examination process. The voluntary exams are allowing both industry and examiners a period of learning and working out the interpretations of the regulations.
The Coast Guard is providing examiners with checklists. Some checklists have been modified as the examination process evolves. But industry representatives all agree the evolution process is good because it strengthens the industry-government partnership……
About 600 members of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters Local 89 working at Jeffboat’s main yard in Jeffersonville, Ind., walked off the job April 2 after contract-renewal negotiations broke down over the issue of health care benefits. A three-year contract expired the same day. On April 4, the workers voted overwhelmingly to extend their strike. At press time, there was no indication that the strike would end soon.
Talks on a new contract had been taking place since the fall, but the two sides were far apart on health benefits. Union president Fred Zuckerman said he agreed with everything else but the health care proposals in the company’s proposed “last, best, final” offer given April 1.
ACL chief executive officer Mike Ryan said in a statement, “Our offer provides all Jeffboat employees with the same healthcare we have for all of our non-union employees.”
That’s immaterial, Zuckerman told WFPL News.
“Actually, we have a better health insurance plan and have had it for quite some time. So actually they have lowered, in their proposal, our health insurance plan to where it’s going to cost us more money for the health insurance for less benefits.” Members would have to contribute to dental and vision coverage, which they do not under the current plan….
The recent allocations of money from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), otherwise known as the stimulus, loosened traditional barriers between different kinds of infrastructure projects. In particular, ARRA allowed money funneled through the Federal Highway Administration to be used for port projects.
This kind of flexibility in using federal transportation dollars is a goal of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO).
Gerald Nicely, current chair of the AASHTO Standing Committee On Water Transportation (SCOWT) and a Commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Transportation, told The Waterways Journal, “AASHTO is fighting for federal support to the states by…calling for more flexibility in how transportation funds can be utilized….(W)e must view transportation holistically—as a fully functioning and integrated system and not simply individual modes.” In 2009, federal competitive grants from the Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) program totaled $1.5 billion.
Nicely has called for three new task forces to be set up within AASHTO for each of the three port/waterways classifications in the U.S.: Great Lakes/St. Lawrence Seaway, Gulf Coast/Bulk Ports, and Deepwater/Container Ports.
The ARRA payments were a one-time thing. “Temporary job creation is just that, temporary,” said Nicely. “Ports, however, are proven engines for continuous, long-term economic growth. We hope this administration continues to recognize this as they develop future budgets and economic policy priorities.”…
Under threat of losing $60 million in federal stimulus dollars earmarked for the reconstruction of the Galveston Causeway Railroad Bridge, Galveston County commissioners accepted on April 8 the bid of a joint venture group to build the bridge, the Galveston County Daily News reported. The bridge, built in 1912, was declared a hazard to navigation by the Coast Guard in 2001.
The winning bidder, Cianbro/Brasfield and Gorrie, proposed widening the bridge’s navigation span from 109 feet to 300 feet, and converting the drawbridge into a lift bridge system.
The vote was 3 to 1, with commissioner Bryan Lamb voting against the award.
A losing bidder, American Bridge Systems, whose bid was about $4 million more than Cianbro’s, challenged the award based on what it said were clerical errors. In an earlier bidding process in October, American Bridge Systems submitted the lowest bid on the project, but all bids were rejected as too high.
This time, American Bridge said it submitted on time a form requiring all bidding companies to declare any connections with elected or county officials, but slow internal procedures in the county office meant the form wasn’t officially filed on time….
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