37 Congressional Reps Want New Project Czar
U.S. Congressman Bob Onder (R-Mo.) and Chris Deluzio (D. Penn.) have led a bipartisan group of 37 members of Congress—with possibly more to follow—in publicly endorsing the idea of an Inland Navigation Construction Organization (INCO) as a free-standing entity within the Corps of Engineers to coordinate and speed up lock and dam construction and repair. The INCO idea was proposed by the Waterways Council Inc., following the release of a study and series of recommendations on February 10 (WJ, Feb. 20).
The study, titled “Inland Navigation Construction Organization: A New Programmatic Approach for Delivering Major Projects,” proposes a fundamental, from-the-ground-up change in the architecture of project delivery, with one single authority — headed by an infrastructure “czar” — responsible for coordinating all project deliveries.
The lawmakers supporting the INCO concept argue that the framework is necessary to fix a pattern of “underperformance” and bureaucratic inefficiencies.
Tracy Zea, president & CEO of Waterways Council, Inc. said, “The nation’s inland waterways modernization program would benefit from being managed as a single, coordinated national program rather than a collection of competing individual projects. Establishing an INCO within the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers would improve accountability, reduce cost, mitigate risk and help Congress and American taxpayers achieve better returns on infrastructure investment. Waterways Council, Inc. greatly appreciates Rep. Onder and Rep. Deluzio for their leadership on establishing INCO.”
Bottlenecks, Delays
In a letter dated May 14 and sent to the Corps, the members wrote, “The inland waterway system is a cornerstone of the American economy, moving hundreds of millions of tons of commerce annually and supporting agriculture, energy production, manufacturing and exports across the country. However, aging locks and dams continue to create bottlenecks that increase transportation costs, disrupt supply chains and weaken America’s global competitiveness. Modernizing this infrastructure is capital-intensive, spans multiple states and decades and requires consistent, long-term oversight from a structure that does not currently exist in adequate form. Despite years of sustained policy changes and congressional appropriations, the inland waterway modernization program has produced troubling results. Only three major inland navigation projects have been completed in the past 28 years, while numerous ongoing projects have experienced significant cost overruns and schedule delays, in some cases extending a decade or more beyond original projections.”
The INCO would not remove project delivery authority from Corps of Engineers districts or divisions, limit Congress’s authority over appropriations or require new statutory authority for Corps implementation. Instead, it would reorganize and strengthen coordination of existing responsibilities to improve accountability, efficiency and long-term program management.
“Our inland waterways are some of the most important economic arteries in the United States, especially along the Texas Gulf Coast, where we move the energy, agriculture and goods that keep America running,” said Rep. Randy Weber (R-Texas). “Right now, too many of these major projects are dealing with delays, rising costs and bureaucratic inefficiency. Something has to change. This bipartisan effort is about bringing stronger oversight and accountability to our inland waterway system so America can continue leading the world.”
