Weekly News Summary For June 19-25, 2006:
WJ Special Issue: Spotlight On The Port Of Pittsburgh
Port Shipping Strengthens, With Lockages Up In 2005 And First Quarter Of 2006
The Port of Pittsburgh is getting busier, with lockages up 12.5 percent in 2005 and up 23 percent in the first quarter of 2006, with lockages on both the Ohio and the Monongahela rivers exceeding totals higher than any quarter since 2002, which was a record year for the port. All totals were measured as part of the Army Corps of Engineers’ Lock Performance Monitoring System.
Port director Jim McCarville said the increases at the port district, which encompasses an 11-county area and essentially all 200 miles of commercially navigable waterways in southwestern Pennsylvania, are due to coal shipments that have increased as power plant operators begin installing pollution control scrubbers that remove sulfur dioxide. This allows companies to use seam coal, which has a higher sulfur content but has a better burn quality. The port district could also see increased shipments of limestone, which is used in scrubbers.
“We are seeing growth, and we expect it to continue,” he said. “There are problems with other modes of transportation. Fuel costs and equipment shortages bode well for waterborne transportation.”
Also noted is that coal traffic is up at both Emsworth and Dashields by nearly 30 percent and more than 15 percent at Montgomery. McCarville noted that although the Port of Pittsburgh Commission (PPC) is glad to see traffic up, those locks within the PPC area are already busy, small and between 70-87 years old.
Of total tonnage for the port district, McCarville said the breakdown is about 77 percent coal or coke; 3 percent petroleum or related products; 2 percent chemical products; 13 percent crude materials; mostly sand and gravel; and 2 percent of manufactured goods, mostly iron and steel….
The first of six public hearings to gather comments on the Ohio River Mainstem System Study (ORMSS) will be held tonight in Monaca, Pa.
Currently, 25 percent of Ohio River locks have exceeded their 50-year design life; by 2016, half will exceed their design life. The study took a holistic approach combining engineering, environmental and economic research.
Study recommendations for the 981-mile river span include initiating prioritized main chamber rehabilitation studies on some of the Ohio River locks during the years 2010–2070, and an optimized funding stream for the ongoing study of aging locks on the upper Ohio—Emsworth, Dashields and Montgomery—which were built in the 1920s and 1930s.
The study’s environmental research included measures to improve long-term environmental sustainability while maintaining and improving the navigation system. The report includes recommendations to meet high-priority needs to enhance the environment such as protection and restoration of habitats and reintroduction of native species.
“Under our study forecast scenarios, we’ve found that when components are repaired or replaced in advance of expected failure, substantial cost savings will be realized,” said Veronica Rife, study manager, who will present the study findings at each public meeting site prior to public hearings….
Rear Adm. Joel R. Whitehead assumed command of the Eighth Coast Guard District in a ceremony June 9 at the Port of New Orleans headquarters.
Whitehead relieved Rear Adm. Robert F. Duncan, the district’s commander since April 2003. Duncan is retiring from the Coast Guard after more than 34 years of service.
Vice Adm. Brian Peterman, Coast Guard Atlantic Area commander, presided over the change-of-command ceremony.
Whitehead’s previous assignment was as assistant commandant for governmental and public affairs at Coast Guard Headquarters in Washington.
A native of Newport News, Va., Whitehead graduated from Walsingham Academy in Williamsburg, Va., in 1971 and from the U.S. Coast Guard Academy at New London, Conn., in 1975 with a Bachelor of Science degree in History and Government. He holds a Masters Degree in Public Administration from the State University of New York at Albany and from 1996-1997 was a national security fellow at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University in Cambridge, Mass. He also completed Seminar XXI, a year-long Washington, D.C.-based program in foreign politics and international relations sponsored by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology….
The Illinois River Carriers’ Association has started a petition to increase funding for the alteration of the EJ&E Railroad bridge over the Illinois River at Mile 270.6 near Morris, Ill. This bridge remains the most-hit bridge in the country because of the narrow draw of just 120 feet. However, of the six bridges across the nation that received funding in FY 06, the EJ&E received the least amount.
Congress has appropriated $11 million to date; about $18 million more is needed to completely fund the alteration. Construction cannot begin until at least 75 percent of the estimated cost has been funded. However, funding has been very slow in coming. Just last year, for FY 06, only $1 million was appropriated.
The bridge is known as a navigational nightmare and its location downriver from the Dresden Island Lock and Dam makes transiting the bridge extremely difficult when high water flows are coming out of the dam….
The National Mississippi River Museum & Aquarium in Dubuque, Iowa, will host two national events June 24: the third International Conference on Rivers and Civilization and the Captain’s Ball.
Iowa Lt. Gov. Sally Pederson will formally open the day as part of her Re-Discover Iowa Tour. She will present the museum and aquarium with a proclamation recognizing the third anniversary of the facility, which to date has drawn nearly 1 million visitors.
The International Rivers Conference is the third in a series; the first two were held along the Volga River in Russia, and the second along the Nile River in Egypt. This year’s conference will be in Dubuque on June 24 and in La Crosse, Wis., on June 25–28. The Dubuque portion includes the sessions The Nile and Civilization, An Ecosystem Approach to Health in the Amazon Basin, and Hurricane Katrina and its Impact on the Mississippi River….
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