NOR'WESTER NEWSLETTER ISSUE #419                                            Visit us on Facebook! Facebookmasthead

April 5, 2012

In This Issue:
Inland Waterways Investment Infrastructure bill Introduced in the House
Transportation Reauthorization/Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund Updates
USACE IWR Releases Working Draft Report for Port and Inland Waterways Modernization
PNWA headquarters is moving
PNWA announces two new members!
David Ponganis appointed to senior Corps Northwestern Division position

Inland Waterways Investment Infrastructure bill Introduced in the House   

 

Last Friday, a group of House members introduced a bill to address the state of U.S. locks and dams. Congressman Ed Whitfield of Kentucky (R-KY), along with a bi-partisan group of co-sponsors Rep. Jerry Costello (D-IL), Rep. John Duncan (R-TN), Rep. Tim Johnson (R-IL), Rep. Robert Alderholt (R-AL), Rep. Terri Sewell (D-AL) and Rep. Russ Carnahan (D-MO), introduced H.R. 4342, Waterways are Vital for the Economy, Energy, Efficiency, and Environment Act of 2012, (WAVE4). This legislation incorporates the elements of the Inland Waterways Capital Development Plan. 

 

The WAVE4 Act requires, among other things, the use of objective criteria for the prioritization of essential inland construction and major rehabilitation projects and protects against cost overruns. Additionally, it revises the current cost sharing structure for inland waterways projects, reforms the Army Corps of Engineers internal project delivery process, and calls for additional contributions from the waterways industry to pay for these vital infrastructure investments. To read the bill in its entirety please visit: http://whitfield.house.gov/sites/whitfield.house.gov/files/WHITFI_034_xml.pdf.

 

With 12,000 miles of commercially navigable channels, and 240 lock sites, the inland waterways system moves commerce to and from 38 states, serves industrial and agricultural centers and facilitates imports and exports at gateway ports. Every year, roughly 624 million tons of cargo transits the inland waterways, valued at nearly $70 billion.

 

PNWA continues to support a national dialogue to determine a fix for the Inland Waterways Trust Fund, and our membership has been very supportive of working with the Administration, Congress and industry to identify reasonable and appropriate funding sources to rebuild the fund. PNWA will be looking over WAVE4 to ensure the needs of our membership are met, and will continue to monitor the bill as it moves through the legislative process.

 

Transportation Reauthorization/Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund Updates

 

Transportation Reauthorization: The House on Thursday, March 29th passed another 90-day extension, giving them until June 30th to come up with a long-term transportation reauthorization bill. The Senate passed a two-year transportation reauthorization bill earlier this year. House Speaker John Boehner promised to get a long-term bill done next month. The problems lie mainly with getting enough moderate Republicans in the House to support a transportation reauthorization bill without losing the conservative votes.

 

Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund: PNWA is pleased that the Senate's recently passed transportation reauthorization bill included language expressing a Sense of the Senate supporting full annual expenditure of Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund revenue. A similar provision was in the House's first version of its five-year transportation reauthorization and we are hopeful it will remain as the House works on its new version. This language has been advocated for by the RAMP Coalition, of which PNWA is a major supporter.

 

USACE IWR Releases Working Draft Report for Port and Inland Waterways Modernization

 

As part of the 2012 Corps of Engineers Budget, Congress required the Corps to submit a report on how Congress should address the critical need for additional port and waterway modernization to accommodate post-Panamax vessels.  Earlier this year the Corps had a series of meetings and webinars to solicit comments and they have just released a "Working Draft Report for Port and Inland Waterways Modernization Strategy: Options for the Future" and request further comments.

 

IWR will collect comments on the draft through April 18 and will host a webinar listening session on April 13 from 1:00-4:00 p.m. EST.  To participate, please RSVP to Portandwaterways@usace.army.mil.

 

To review summaries of comments collected during past months' listening sessions, visit the study website at:  http://www.iwr.usace.army.mil/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&catid=44:project-stories&id=820:ports-and-waterways-expansion-study&Itemid=4.

PNWA Headquarters is moving

 

The PNWA office is moving! As of May 1, 2012 our new mailing address will be:

 

Pacific Northwest Waterways Association (PNWA)

516 SE Morrison Street, Suite 1000

Portland OR 97214

 

Please note that we will be in the process of moving Friday, April 27 and Monday, April 29, and may have limited access to email at that time. We appreciate your patience and ask that you update your records accordingly.  

PNWA announces two new members!

 

PNWA is pleased to announce Temco as our newest member! Temco is a partnership between CHS, Inc and Cargill, Inc with its main office located in Inver Grove Heights, MN. Temco operates 3 export grain terminals located in: Tacoma, WA, Kalama, WA and Portland, OR. PNWA's designated representative is Paul Butters, who can be reached at Paul.Butters@chsinc.com.

 

PNWA also welcomes Landau Associates, Inc. Landau celebrating its 30th Anniversary this year, as an employee-owned firm specializing in environmental engineering and science, geotechnical engineering, environmental permitting, and natural resources services.  The firm is headquartered in Edmonds, WA, with additional offices in Tacoma, Seattle, Spokane, Tri-Cities, and Portland, OR. Since its founding in 1982, the company has grown to more than 90 employees and has expanded their environmental and engineering services to their industrial, municipal, public ports, and private developer client base. Landau Associates' staff includes planners, biologists, ecologists, geotechnical engineers, geologists, hydrogeologists, environmental engineers, chemical engineers, regulatory specialists, field and laboratory technicians, and administrative professionals.  The company's depth of resources allows them to promptly and efficiently respond to the needs of their clients.   PNWA's designated representative is James Farrow, who can be reached at jfarrow@landauinc.com.

David Ponganis appointed to senior Corps Northwestern Division position

 

Maj. Gen. Merdith (Bo) Temple, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Acting Commanding General, announced that Mr. David J. Ponganis has been named Programs Director for the Northwestern Division. The Division oversees the five operating districts located in Seattle and Walla Walla, Wash., Kansas City, Mo., Portland and Omaha.

 

Mr. Ponganis will direct a $3 billion annual program of water resource projects, military construction, and environmental restoration activities throughout the Columbia and Missouri river basins. A large part of the civil works mission focuses on maintaining and operating Corps projects for flood risk reduction, hydroelectric, navigation, recreation and water supply purposes, natural disaster response, and enhancing fish and wildlife activities in 12 states. The division's military construction and environmental restoration program oversees support to several dozen military installations and HTRW cleanup actions in 14 states.

 

With 32 years of civil engineering and water resource planning experience in the Columbia and Missouri river basins, Ponganis most recently served as chief of planning, environmental resources and fish policy for the Northwestern Division office with a focus on fish and wildlife recovery programs and water resource environmental activities. He earned a bachelor's degree in environmental planning from the University of California at Santa Cruz and a master's degree in civil engineering from Stanford University. Prior to joining the Corps, he spent two years with the Environmental Protection Agency.

                                                                                          

PNWA congratulates Mr. Ponganis on his appointment to the Senior Executive Service and we look forward to working with him in his new role.