Congress pressed for action on harbor dredging

Congress pressed for action on harbor dredging    The House of Representatives Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment heard testimony on Friday proposed legislation to require expenditures on harbor maintenance to be equal to the amount collected under the Harbor Maintenance Tax.
   Jim Weakley, president of the Lake Carriers Association, urged passage of H.R. 104, the Realize America's Maritime Promise (RAMP) Act, without amendment.
   'We are on the verge of a national navigation heart attack. We need to revive our dying infrastructure with the angioplasty of dredging and sustain it with a healthy maintenance diet,' he said.
   'Unless the issue of channel maintenance is addressed, the reliability and responsiveness of the entire intermodal system will slow economic growth and threaten national security,' said Rep. Bob Gibbs, R-Ohio, who chairs the subcommittee. He said only two of the nation's 10 largest ports are at their authorized depths and widths.

Weakley

   Rep. Charles Boustany Jr. R-La., sponsor of H.R. 104, said funds collected by the harbor maintenance tax are far outstripping the amount being spent on maintenance dredging, to the point where it is projected there will be a $6.1 billion surplus in the Harbor Maintenance Tax Fund at the beginning of the next fiscal year.
   Boustany noted the act would not touch that surplus, but only require that going forward that funds collected by the harbor maintenance tax be used for their intended purpose.
   Gary LaGrange, president and chief executive officer of the Port of New Orleans, said a lack of funding and heavy silting of the lower Mississippi River this year has reduced the depth of the channel from 45 to 43 feet, and that there are concerns that draft might be reduced further to 38 feet. He also said the width of the channel has been reduced from 750 to 150 feet so that pilots are 'threading needles' as they guide ships in and out of the river.
   LaGrange said it is the 'ability to facilitate international trade that is at serious risk, not only for the Port of New Orleans, but also for other ports throughout the United States.'
   Only about $828 million was spent for authorized dredging and maintenance in fiscal year 2010 when total receipts were $1.36 billion, he said.
   Boustany said if H.R. 104 was implemented it 'could significantly change maritime shipping in the United States and worldwide. Restoring harbors and channels to their authorized dimensions will make them safer, accommodate larger vessels, and increase growth in the import and export industries.
   'Proper use of the surplus funds in the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund, together with the annual revenues deposited into that fund, would solve many of our nation's commercial navigation maintenance needs that are vital to our competitiveness in international trade and to this country's economic recovery,' he said.
   H.R. 104 has more than 100 bipartisan cosponsors. A subcommittee markup of the legislation was originally scheduled to occur after Friday's hearing, but was been postponed. ' Chris Dupin