NOR'WESTER NEWSLETTER ISSUE #336                                           

masthead

July 8, 2009

In This Issue:
Senate subcommittee approves FY2010 Corps funding bill
Short sea shipping grant program included in MARAD bill
PNWA announces new member: Cooperative Agricultural Producers, Inc
PNWA Mid-Year Meeting is a great success!
Senate subcommittee approves FY2010 Corps funding bill
 
Today, the Senate Energy & Water Appropriations Subcommittee marked up their FY2010 funding bill for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Bureau of Reclamation, and Department of Energy. 
 
The Corps of Engineers received $5.4B in FY2009 appropriations and the Administration has proposed $5.1 for FY2010.  The Senate bill proposes to keep funding at the $5.4B level, an increase of $280M over the Administration's budget.  The Subcommittee's bill follows the President's budget proposal fairly closely. Operations and Maintenance (O&M) would receive $2.450B, which is $54M less than the President's request, but $248.1 million above the FY 2009 enacted level. PNWA members will also remember that the Corps received $4.6B in the stimulus package (ARRA), with many Northwest navigation projects receiving critical investment.
 
The following PNWA-supported navigation projects are recommended for funding increases in the Senate bill:
  • Lower Monumental Lock and Dam was funded at $2.735M by both the President and the House. The Senate bill added $4.0M to begin lock gate replacement for total funding of $6.735M. PNWA thanks the efforts of U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) for championing this important project. PNWA continues to support additional stimulus funding to ensure that the lock gate replacement is completed in 2011.
  • Elliott Bay Seawall (Seattle, WA) General Investigation was not funded in the President's budget. It received $800K in the House bill and $255K in the Senate bill.
  • Coos Bay, OR O&M was proposed at $$4.591M by the President. It was funded at $5.091M in the House bill and $5.043 in the Senate bill.
  • Columbia River at Baker Bay (Port of Ilwaco, WA) was funded at $86K in the President's and House's budget. The Senate bill increases funding to $727K.
  • Columbia River between Chinook and Sand Island (Port of Chinook, WA) received $7K in both the President's budget and the House bill. It is funded at $847K in the Senate bill.
The Senate also added language directing the Corps to be flexible in addressing the needs of the Ports of Ilwaco and Chinook, including saving money by combining the projects into a single mobilization.
 
The Senate bill also included $3M for the Bureau of Reclamation to fund the PNWA-supported Odessa Subarea Special Study. 
 
The House Appropriations Committee, yesterday, approved its Energy and Water Appropriations bill. It includes $5.5B for the Corps, including $2.5B for O&M. PNWA reported on the Subcommittee's draft in the June 26 Nor'wester. The details of the full Committee's bill are not yet available, but we do not anticipate significant changes.
 
For more information on FY2010 navigation funding, check our website www.pnwa.net.  Please note that PNWA's information  will continue to be updated as the House and Senate continue moving their respective bills through each chamber, as well as with any changes provided by regional Corps officials regarding navigation-oriented capabilities at projects our members support.
 
PNWA staff contact: Glenn Vanselow

Short sea shipping grant program included in MARAD bill
 
Today, the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee approved the Maritime Administration Authorization Act of FY2010. It includes provisions to reduce congestion on the nation's roads by encouraging short sea shipping.  The measure would create a grant program for 'America's Marine Highways' to encourage shipping by sea or inland waterway and establish a new program to modernize port facilities to make efficiently transport freight. The bill would also establish a Port Infrastructure Development Program to improve the capabilities of port facilities to move freight. 
 
PNWA staff contact: Glenn Vanselow

PNWA announces new member: Cooperative Agricultural Producers, Inc.
 
PNWA is extremely excited to announce Co-Ag (Cooperative Agricultural Producers, Inc.) as our newest member.  Co-Ag was formed June 1, 1998, as the result of a merger between 3 cooperatives: Fairfield Grain Growers, Inc., Rosalia Producers, Inc., and Oakesdale Grain Growers, Inc.  The cooperative serves over 600 members and has a licensed storage capacity slightly over 13 million bushels.  The commodities they receive are soft white wheat, hard red winter wheat, dark northern spring wheat, feed barley, malting barley, green peas, yellow peas, lentils, and triticale.  They have a processing facility in Spokane, Washington, where they are able to clean, split, and bag peas, as well as clean and bag lentils for export and domestic sales.  Co-Ag utilizes both river and rail and would like to keep both modes of transportation as viable and available shipping options. 
 
For more information, you can log onto Co-Ag's website at www.co-ag.com, or contact General Manager Jackie Tee at [email protected] or 509.523.3511. 
 
PNWA staff contact: Heather Stebbings

PNWA Mid-Year Meeting a great success!
 
Our 75th Annual Mid-Year Meeting held last week in Chelan, WA focused on offering participants the opportunity to find solutions and develop ideas to take home to implement.  The presentations and discussions were extremely valuable to all who attended, and we sincerely believe that we lived up to our goal of leaving registrants challenged, inspired and prepared for the road ahead as we begin to work through the economic rebound.  
 
We would like to thank all of our enthusiastic registrants, generous sponsors, and informative speakers for the time everyone took to join us.  It was wonderful to be able to hear about the work our members are doing to overcome the economic challenges facing our region and the nation.  This meeting provided a unique opportunity for us to discuss as an organization, a way to move forward and the outlook is extremely positive!

 
Doc Hastings at Mid-Year
U.S. Representative Doc Hastings speaks at the PNWA Mid-Year Meeting in Chelan, WA

Delore
Expert strategy consultant Delore Zimmerman addresses the PNWA membership

Tsillan Cellars
PNWA Mid-Year Meeting registrants get a tour of the winemaking facility at Tsillan Cellars by owner Dr. Bob Jankelson


PNWA staff contact: Heather Stebbings