Waterway News From D.C.
After an earlier request failed to produce a workable list of nominations, the Department of the Army published a second notice requesting nominations to serve on the Inland Waterways Users Board (IWUB).
Nominations for the 11 appointments to the board now must be received no later than August 3. Those received after May 2 in response to the earlier request also will be retained for consideration, according to Paul Clouse, IWUB’s executive secretary.
The current request is for members to join the Inland Waterways Users Board by February 16.
“We were informed that the first request did not provide enough nominations to meet the legal requirement for 11 members with appropriate geographic and commodity group representation,” said Eugene Pawlik, spokesman for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
According to the Army’s July 23 notice in the Federal Register, representative organizations are to be selected from the spectrum of commercial carriers and shippers using the inland and intracoastal waterways to represent geographical regions and waterborne commerce as determined by commodity ton-mile statistics.
For additional information, contact Paul Clouse at 202-768-3157 or Paul.D.Clouse@usace.army.mil or Steven Riley at 703-659-3097 or Steven.D.Riley@usace.army.mil.
The IWUB website is at http://www.iwr.usace.army.mil/Missions/Navigation/Inland-Waterways-Users-Board.
Coast Guard Funding
The House of Representatives easily approved bipartisan legislation authorizing funding for the U.S. Coast Guard through 2029, creating a secretary of the Coast Guard, continuing recapitalization of its “historically underfunded” cutter fleet, ensuring a robust U.S. shipbuilding industry, boosting protections against sexual assault and harassment and increasing the pool of qualified merchant mariners.
Passed by a vote of 399 to 12, H.R. 4275 now goes to the Senate, which approved its Coast Guard bill, S. 524, in March.
“The Coast Guard Authorization Act provides the men and women of the Coast Guard with the resources they need to carry out their many missions, including protecting our nation’s maritime borders, preventing illegal drugs and migrants from entering the country and ensuring maritime safety,” House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Sam Graves (R-Mo.) said.
Graves introduced the bill along with co-sponsors Rep. Rick Larsen (D-Wash.) and Reps. Mike Ezell (R-Miss.) and Salud Carbajal (D-Calif.).
Larsen said the bill will ensure the Coast Guard has the resources to remain mission ready to respond to oil spills, prevent sexual assault and harassment and improve shore side infrastructure.
FY26 Spending Bills
Members of the waterways industry once again will have to wait until after Labor Day to find out which provisions that they have been tracking have made it into the final versions of spending bills for fiscal year 2026.
The House of Representatives left one day early for its annual August break amid growing turmoil over the records in the Jeffrey Epstein case.
On the other side of the Capitol, the Senate is scheduled to remain in session until August 1.
Upon their return after Labor Day, lawmakers will again face the daunting task of keeping federal agencies funded after the start of the new fiscal year on October 1.
Schedules for both chambers currently indicate they may have as little as 16 legislative days to get that job done or be forced to pass yet another continuing resolution to avoid a shutdown.
The list of spending bills important to the waterways industry includes those that fund the civil works program of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and programs within the Department of Transportation.
DOT Request
As lawmakers kicked off efforts to write the next surface transportation bill, the Department of Transportation is requesting ideas and comments from the public on “America’s Most Fundamental Infrastructure Needs.”
Comments, which should be received by August 20, may be submitted via www.regulations.gov under Docket No. DOT-OST-2025-0468, by email to STR2026@dot.gov or physical mail at Dockets Operation; U.S. Department of Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Ave. SE, West Building, Ground Floor, W12-140, Washington, DC 20590-0001.
All submissions should include the agency name and docket number. For additional information, contact Daniel Cohen at 202-366-4702 or STR2026@dot.gov.
Small Shipyard Grants
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced grants totaling $8.75 million to 17 recipients across 12 states to help revitalize U.S. shipyards and advance America’s maritime dominance.
Selected by the Maritime Administration (MarAd), the Small Shipyard Grant Program’s awards are to modernize infrastructure, enhance training and expand apprenticeship programs.
“President Trump’s plan to reclaim maritime dominance starts with rebuilding America’s shipyards,” Duffy said. “This program will help America to build big, beautiful ships again to counter Chinese competition and maintain freedom on the seas.”
EIS Comments
The Department of the Navy is inviting the public to comment on a draft Environmental Impact Statement concerning proposed Bremerton waterfront infrastructure improvements at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility, Naval Base Kitsap-Bremerton (EISX-007-17-USN-1654671600).
Comments must be postmarked or submitted electronically by 11:59 p.m. Pacific Time September 3. Comments also may be submitted at an in-person public meeting or electronically through the project website at BremertonWaterfrontImprovementsEIS.com, by email at info@BremertonWaterfrontImprovementsEIS.com or by mail at Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command Northwest Attention: EIS Project Manager, 1101 Tautog Circle, Room 210, Silverdale, WA 98315.
Concurrently, the Navy is conducting a Section 106 process under the National Historic Preservation Act (NIPA) that requires federal agencies to consider the effects projects may have on historic properties.
The public also may submit written comments for the Section 106 process.
A public meeting on the draft EIS is scheduled to be held at 5 p.m. Pacific Time August 7 at the Marvin Williams Recreation Center; 725 Park Ave., Bremerton, WA 98337.
For additional information, contact Julianne Leinenveber at 360-867-8525 or julianne.e.leinenveber.civ@us.navy.mil.
