Weekly News Summary For July 19–25, 2010:
As calls mount for permanent separation of the Great Lakes from Chicago waterways in the wake of the discovery of a single bighead Asian carp in the Calumet Lake past electric barriers meant to stop carp, a coalition that formed a few months ago to keep the locks open is gaining new members, including the Kirby Corporation.
Called UnLock Our Jobs, the group was founded by the Chemical Industry Council of Illinois, but has rapidly added members since. Its goal is not simply to keep the locks open, but also to use all other means short of lock closure to stop Asian carp from reaching the Great Lakes.
Besides Kirby, new members announced July 13 include the Ports of Indiana, the American Agriculture Movement, U.S. Steel Corporation, Buckley Brothers Granary of Wilmington, Ohio, and the Illinois Association of Aggregate Producers. Existing waterways industry members include The American Waterways Operators, the Waterways Council Inc., Canal Barge Company, Ingram Barge Company, Alter Barge Lines Inc., Illinois Marine Towing Inc., the Illinois International Port District - Port of Chicago, the Seafarers International Union, and the International Organization of Masters, Mates and Pilots. Other members include farm and petroleum organizations and chambers of commerce. (You can visit the coalition’s Web site at www.unlockourjobs.org.)
“These new additions to the coalition indicate a newfound concern for the debate over Asian carp on economic and environmental affairs, not only in Illinois, but in Indiana, Ohio, and states as far away as Texas,” said Mark Biel, executive director of the Chemical Industry Council of Illinois. “Awareness of this issue is growing as people learn more about the importance of this small stretch of water to their own lives, and the facts about how we can best protect our lakes.”
UnLock Our Jobs was formed even as legal efforts by closure proponents were being stopped by the U.S. Supreme Court. That outcome left few avenues in the court system for lock closure proponents. All sides now realize that any resolution will have to be political….
Thomas Allegretti, president and chief executive officer of The American Waterways Operators, assured reporters July 13 that the Jones Act does not impede cleanup operations being conducted in the Gulf of Mexico as a result of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
The Jones Act mandates the use of American vessels and American workers in U.S. domestic maritime trades.
“No foreign-flag vessel has been denied the opportunity to participate in the oil spill cleanup and response as a result of the Jones Act,” Allegretti said. The only vessels that may have been denied access to the site were those offering equipment unsuitable for the cleanup.
Asked if he knew of reasons for demands that the Jones Act be repealed if the law has no role in the cleanup, Allegretti said, “At no time has the Jones Act inhibited the cleanup and in no case have we declined an offer of assistance because of the Jones Act or other cabotage laws. I can’t speak as to the motivation of those who have suggested repeal of the law but we are concerned about the fact that it is apparently based on misinformation about how the Jones Act has impeded the cleanup.”
Allegretti was one of four maritime executives participating in a 30-minute telephone press conference to discuss the Jones Act and its role in the Deepwater Horizon oil cleanup.
About 80 people turned out on a Friday evening in midsummer St. Louis for a chance to comment on the Missouri River Authorized Purposes Study (MRAPS). The open house meeting was the 16th in a series of 30 scoping meetings that have been moving up and down both the Missouri and Mississippi rivers for the past several months. A primary purpose of the sessions is to collect public comments to be incorporated into a Project Management Plan envisioned by the MRAPS process. The study is being organized by the Omaha and Kansas City Engineer districts.
The turnout was among the highest of any of the MRAPS public meetings so far, according to Paul Rohde, vice president of the Midwest Area of the Waterways Council Inc., who spoke during the comment time.
Comments were uniformly negative. Lynne Muench, senior vice president for regional advocacy for The American Waterways Operators, said the organization has serious concerns about MRAPS because it has the potential of killing Missouri River navigation just when it is getting established again after years of drought.
Many commenters argued that the process shouldn’t be taking place at all and was a waste of taxpayer dollars. Representatives of elected officials like Sen. Kit Bond (R-Mo.) and Rep. Todd Akin (R.Mo.) politely informed those present that their bosses would seek every opportunity to kill funding for the remaining parts of the process, although they praised the Corps of Engineers team for professionalism in carrying out their mandated duties.
So grand was the description of Don Boling at the christening of his namesake vessel that it would be hard to imagine Pine Bluff Sand & Gravel Company naming its new boat after anyone else.
“He was mythical,” said Brian McGeorge, the company’s chief operating officer, who did not have the opportunity to work with Boling, but knew of him nonetheless. Of all the decisions that had to be made in the 2-1/2 years of planning for the vessel, choosing a name was the easiest, he told the christening crowd.
The nearly century old marine construction and dredging firm dedicated the mv. Don Boling June 19 at Little Rock’s Peabody on the River. Boling led the company’s methodical expansion of its river operations.
The company’s long-term strategy of being vertically integrated, not dependent on outside towing, in order to control every aspect of delivering rock to projects in the Gulf and elsewhere, prompted construction of the new boats, McGeorge continued
The Don Boling is the first of three 6,000 hp., EMD-driven towboats that Gulf Island Fabricators, Houma, La., is building for PBS&G. CT Marine was the designer….
For 50 years, the National Waterways Conference has been a national force fighting waterway user fees. As it embarks on its next half-century, the organization is in a stronger position than ever to exert a positive influence on the nation’s water-resources policy.
NWC, which was created in 1960 to fight the imposition of tolls on the public waterways, evolved over the years into an broad waterways organization, advocating for sound policies across the water-resources spectrum. Navigation has always been at the core, but NWC also, uniquely, works on issues ranging from flood control to water supply to recreation to beach nourishment.
And surprisingly, the organization has always worked with a bare-bones central staff: there are currently only two full-time employees. Fortunately, throughout its history NWC has been blessed with sharp and hard-working executive leaders, most notably former President Harry N. Cook, who ran the organization for 39 years. After he retired, the late Worth Hager and then Amy Larson, the current president, took the reins and moved the organization forward. They are supported by the 75 leaders who make up the board of directors and provide expertise across a wide variety of water issues.
That support from the board of directors and membership might be the key to NWC’s success and its longevity. Attend one of the conference’s annual meetings, and you can sense the pride that members take in the organization, which they demonstrate both through enthusiastic and thoughtful participation in the panel discussions, as well as year-round commitment to committee work and other activities to improve the organization.
“Everybody has always been very proud of the track record of the National Waterways Conference: the enthusiasm, the camaraderie,” said Bob Portiss, director of the Tulsa Port of Catoosa and two-time (for a total of five years) chairman of the NWC board of directors. “Members have a willingness to work together for a common purpose. I think it’s always been there.”…
The Waterways Journal encourages letters to the editor.
Have something on your mind?
Send letters to: jshoulberg@waterwaysjournal.net.
(Please indicate whether or not your letter is intended for publication.)
