MARITIME ADVISORY COUNCIL ADVISES AGAINST NEW SEA-21 TRUST FUND

MARITIME ADVISORY COUNCIL ADVISES AGAINST NEW SEA-21 TRUST FUND    The Marine Transportation System National Advisory Council has recommended against the development a new “SEA-21” trust fund, drawn from existing customs revenues, to support the nation’s maritime infrastructure improvements.
   The council, which began drafting its recommendations to Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta in November, said existing trust funds should instead be strengthened.
   The Inland Waterways Trust Fund was developed to fund 50 percent of the cost of new construction and maintenance of inland waterways. The Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund was created to provide 100 percent of the funding to maintain harbor channel depths.
   “All the revenues deposited (in the trust funds) should be spent on an accelerated basis on approved, eligible projects under these programs,” the council said.
   “For example, annual appropriations form the Inland Waterways Trust Fund should increase to approximately $150 million per year, which, when matched with general revenues as called for under existing law, is sufficient to maintain an efficient construction level and is able to be sustained without increasing current diesel fuel tax rates,” the council added.
   The council also recommended that reauthorization of TEA-21 improves the linkage between the nation’s highway system with the water and rail freight terminals.
   In addition, the council recommended an increase in federal support for specific “high priority” government operations, such as the Coast Guard, Bureau of Customs and Border Protection, and the navigation services of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Army Corps of Engineers.
   The council remains concerned about the potential costs of increased transportation security.
   “While the private sector should be expected to take appropriate security precautions, detection and prevention of terrorism is principally a function of the federal government, and the private sector should not be expected to perform functions or incur the costs of antiterrorism initiatives that are properly governmental functions,” the council said.