PNWA Nor'wester #364

Northwest Senate delegation unanimous on Section 214, HMTF requests for WRDA

The Senate Environment & Public Works Committee recently solicited project and policy submissions for the possible creation of a WRDA 2010. We are pleased to report that all six Senators from the Northwest delegation were unanimous in requesting PNWA 's requested policy language. Senators Cantwell, Crapo, Merkley, Murray, Risch, and Wyden have submitted requests for Section 214 regulatory funding authority to be made permanent, and for a fix for the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund (HMTF).

Section 214 of the Water Resources Development Act of 2000 (P.L. 106-541) allows the Secretary of the Army to accept and expend funds contributed by non-Federal public entities to expedite the processing of permits. Section 214 has allowed local governments to move forward with vital
infrastructure and ecosystem restoration projects. By funding additional staff to work on specific, time-intensive permits, existing Corps staffers are able to process significant permit backlogs more quickly. Funding for additional Corps staff has resulted in a reduction of permit wait times not only for the funding entity, but for any individual or organization that makes an application with that District of the Corps. Section 214 is currently being used by over 41 public agencies in 20 Corps districts. Section 214 is currently authorized through December31, 2010, and PNWA members strongly support the effort to make the authority permanent. As it is unlikely that a WRDA will be enacted into law this year, PNWA staff is pursuing another extension for this authority as well.

PNWA also requested language to address the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund (HMTF). Over the past decade, the HMTF has accumulated a balance of more than $5 billion. During the past few years, less than 2/3 of the annual HMTF revenue has been appropriated for harbor maintenance. Annual maintenance dredging can determine whether many ports and terminals on rivers in the Northwest will be able to engage in international trade from deep draft vessels. A recent Army Corps of Engineers analysis of the 59 busiest commercial Federal harbor channels in the United States found that, nationwide, the authorized channel depth for those channels was available for as little as half the authorized width of the channel for less than one-third of the year, and that this rate of availability has been declining for several years. Almost 30% of commercial vessel port calls in the United States in recent years were constrained by inadequate channel depths. If this trend is not reversed soon, our nation's harbors and navigation channels will act as clogged arteries, harming a major driver of the nation's economy, international trade. PNWA's request follows the proposals of the RAMP (Realize America's Maritime Promise) Coalition, to enact language that ties Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund (HMTF) annual appropriations levels to annual HMTF revenues.

PNWA staff contact: Kristin Meira