Weekly News Summary For June 6–12, 2005:
The wave of trade coming from Asia will overwhelm the United States’ ability to handle freight if major revisions are not made quickly, said John Horsley, president of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials.
"We’re facing a shock of major proportions and most politicians haven’t got it," Horsley said.
Representatives of 17 state transportation departments were given a detailed insight into the growing needs that increased intermodal (container) transportation of freight will place on an already overburdened infrastructure, at a conference in New Orleans May 25–27.
The conference was a joint meeting of AASHTO’s Standing Committee on Water Transportation and the Heartland Intermodal Partnership, a group of government and industry representatives from 24 mid-America states organized by the U.S. Maritime Administration (MarAd). Inland Rivers Ports & Terminals hosted the meeting….
Four deaths over the Memorial Day weekend once again reminded industry as well as pleasure boaters of the possible dangers associated with the inland waterways they share.
In the Bayou Cutler, south of Lafitte, La., the body of 12-year-old Ben Ribando was recovered on May 30 near the area where an collision occurred between a small cabin cruiser with five people aboard and an empty barge being pushed by the tugboat Leah Cenac.
A helicopter search crew spotted the body and the Jefferson Parrish Sheriff’s Office recovered and transported the body….
The St. Paul Engineer District, in cooperation with the Water Level Management Task Force of the River Resources Forum (RRF), plans to implement a drawdown of Pool 5 for the benefit of fish and wildlife this summer, beginning on June 13.
The drawdown at Lock and Dam 5, which is located 10 miles northwest of Winona, Minn., will reduce water levels at the dam by 1.5 feet. The maximum drawdown at the Alma Gage will be one foot. This plan can only be implemented, however, if flows stay below 105,000 cubic feet per second. If flows cooperate, the drawdown will be conducted throughout the summer and will be completed by September 30.
The effects on commercial navigation in Pool 5 are expected to be minimal. The Corps dredged the main channel in this portion of the river this spring to insure adequate depths in the navigation channel during the drawdown….
The Corps extended the comment period on the draft feasibility report and draft environmental impact statement on the Arkansas River Navigation Study until June 23.
The study has been examining ways to make the McClellan-Kerr Arkansas River Navigation System more reliable and improve navigation efficiency. The study explored ways to reduce the average number of days each year that flows are high enough to impede navigation. It also addressed potential deepening of the waterway so barges can be loaded more fully, and it examined widening the Verdigris River portion of the system in Oklahoma.
The documents have identified cost-effective, environmentally sound methods to alter flow regimes from the Oklahoma lakes to reduce the number of days with high flows and to deepen the navigation channel to 12 feet. Widening the Verdigris River was not recommended.
The Corps estimates the recommended changes will cost $160 million to implement and will return an estimated $22 million in benefits each year. An estimated $12 million in environmental mitigation is included in the cost estimate, and the Corps is still working with the environmental resource agencies to develop a final mitigation plan….
Despite the demanding job and lifestyle of the men and women of the Coast Guard, they do find time to help out others in need, most notably through First Book, a national non-profit organization that provides books to low-income families for the opportunity to read and enjoy new books of their very own.
In all, 30 million new books have been distributed to children since its origination in 1992.
The relationship between the Coast Guard and First Book was formed in 2000 when the Coast Guard dubbed First Book the agency’s "signature charity."
NyxoLyno Cangemi, spokesman for the Coast Guard Eighth District, said the Coast Guard has assisted in distributing 8 million books to needy children. While each individual Coast Guard sector, unit, division, etc., assists the organization in different ways, Cangemi said they provide volunteers, time and space.
"It is a volunteer effort where we help with receiving, sorting and transferring of books to be distributed," he said. "The organization uses our warehouse space and Coast Guard volunteers help when they are needed."…
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