Weekly News Summary For September 14-20, 2009:
A bill introduced July 31, and a pending decision by the Obama administration, are reopening a bitter, decades-old debate about whether or not to breach four dams along the Snake River that environmentalists have long claimed are causing the chinook salmon population to decrease.
The Salmon Solutions and Planning Act was sponsored July 31 by U.S. Rep. Jim McDermott (D-Wash.) and 22 other House members, including Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.)—the only other member from the Northwest to support it.
Powerful senior Democratic politicians from the region oppose tearing down the dams, including Washington Gov. Chris Gregoire, and both of the state’s senators, Maria Cantwell and Patty Murray. So does Norm Dicks, Washington’s senior representative in the House. Their lack of support makes McDermott’s bill unlikely to pass.
At the same time, the Obama administration is considering a “biological opinion” on the dams—a Bush-era plan for managing the salmon by the federal agencies responsible for them, including the Army Corps of Engineers (which operates the dams) and the National Marine Fisheries Service. The dams, built during the 1960s and 1970s, have been blamed for a decrease in salmon runs. Solutions have included barging fingerling salmon downriver and opening spillways during salmon season….
Groundbreaking ceremonies were held by Westway Terminal Company LLC at the Port of Greater Baton Rouge for a $3.8 million expansion of its liquid bulk storage terminal.
Located on the West Bank of the Mississippi River at its Port Allen, La., facility, the wholly owned subsidiary of Westway Group Inc. plans to build four, 1-million-gallon bulk liquid storage tanks, which will expand the terminal’s capabilities by 25 percent.
Upon completion, the terminal will provide 22 bulk liquid storage tanks with a total storage capacity of 21 million gallons.
“The project will generate 15 to 20 local construction jobs and add two full-time employees,” said terminal manager Terry Fleming….
Direct Marine Services LLC, a new shipyard in Houma, La., recently launched its first hull into the waters of Bayou La Carpe. The 78- by 32- by 10-foot towboat is scheduled for delivery around November 1.
The shipyard began operation after the first of the year with an order in hand from Higman Marine Services in Houston, Texas. The boat will be named mv. Saint Charles and will have 2,000 hp. Direct Marine has an option for four other identical vessels for Higman, according to Lou Parker, vice president of operations.
“The blue-water industry is slow right now. Orders are being held up because of the economy,” Parker said. “But the brown-water market is excellent.”
Parker was formerly vice president and general manager of Hope Services, a shipyard in Dulac, La., and has been in the boatbuilding business since the Vietnam War, where he served in the Coast Guard….
American Commercial Lines Inc. last week announced a realignment of its transportation services division that will move operations managers to two regional divisions, based in Harahan, La., and Cairo, Ill. The company said the changes are designed to reduce costs, improve efficiencies and streamline communication.
Baton Rouge, La., will be the dividing line between the company’s southern and northern divisions.
Mario Munoz, previously vice president-vessel operations, will lead the company’s operations in the south as vice president and general manager-southern division, and will be located in Harahan. Bill Foster, previously director of barge maintenance, will lead operations in the north as vice president and general manager-northern division, and will be located in Cairo.
Prior to this realignment, this level of leadership was located at the company’s headquarters in Jeffersonville, Ind. The entire transportation services group will continue to be led by Bill Braman, vice president and general manager-transportation services. Braman is based in Jeffersonville.
In a shipyard, time is money. The faster a shipyard can get a barge back in service, the less money repairs cost and the sooner the barge can continue generating income.
Located at the site of the old Burton Shipyard along the deep water of theSabine Neches Ship Channel in Port Arthur, Texas, Vessel Repair has developed an innovative and efficient railway with a side transfer system to set up barges for repairs, explained Ron Moerbe, a second generation owner of the facility. The facility is at Mile 282 on the Gulf Intracoastal Canal Waterway (GIWW).
Using a tug to help position a standard 195- by 35-foot barge in its slip, crews attach the barge to a winch to pull it up the railway. Once the barge is out of the water, gravity drops the counter-weighted king posts along the sides out of the way so the barge can be rolled sideways on raised tracks and free up the railway for the next barge.
Barges sit on wheeled trucks that roll to the side for repairs on the railway. Currently there is space to have three barges to the right side of the railway and one to the left. An air lift system is available to lift the barge off the rail trucks at the outside location and allow the trucks to return quickly for another barge lift and transfer.
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