Inland waterways, port authorities want more funds for maintenance

Inland waterways, port authorities want more funds for maintenance    Inland waterway transport proponents are generally pleased with President Bush’s proposed fiscal year 2005 budget for lock and dam upgrades, but warn it still falls short of the industry’s recommended funding level.
   The Bush administration’s budget request proposed $115 million to $133 million to be released from the Inland Waterways Trust Fund, which would then be matched by an equal amount from the general treasury.
   The Washington-based Waterways Council recommended a $150-million-per-year allocation for 10 years from the trust fund. “We will continue to push hard toward full and efficient funding for all of our nation’s priority lock and dam projects,” said the group’s president and chief executive officer Barry Palmer.
   The council also expressed concern about reduction in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Operations & Maintenance account.
   The American Association of Port Authorities said it was troubled by the “misuse” of the country’s Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund (HMTF). The trust fund received ad valorem taxes paid on imports and coastwise moves. The trust fund was established by Congress in 1986 to recover costs of maintaining the country’s deep-draft navigation channels.
   Both the AAPA and the Waterways Council are frustrated that a large portion of the fund remains unused. Based on the proposed fiscal year 2005 budget, the fund surplus is expected to increase another $337 million between fiscal year 2004 and fiscal year 2005.
   “We strongly urge the administration and Congress to release the HMTF funds in 2005, or face the prospect of crippling America’s waterways and rendering them unable to support the nation’s projected growth in international trade,” said AAPA president Kurt Nagle.