PNWA's 2013 Summer Conference a success! 

This past week, over 100 of PNWA's members and colleagues gathered in scenic La Conner, WA for our 2013 Summer Conference. Topics of discussion included the Columbia River Treaty, Corps funding, consultant member project highlights, trade policies, and much more. Full copies of all the presentations will be available on our website shortly, along with a copy of the agenda.

Port of Skagit, Port of Anacortes, Collins Engineers, Columbia River Pilots, Port of Vancouver, Port of Portland, Port of Lewiston, Shaver Transportation, Columbia River Steamship Operators' Association, Westwood Shipping Lines, Port of St. Helens, Wildlands Inc., Moffatt & Nichol, Port of Seattle and Schwabe, Williamson & Wyatt. Thank you!

Jim Toomey, current Executive Director of the Port of Pasco, will retire at the end of this year. Jim has been a great friend and leader in the Northwest port community and in PNWA, and currently serves as PNWA's Treasurer. We congratulate Jim on his many years of excellent service in the port industry and wish him all the best in his retirement later this year. Randy Hayden has been named as Jim's replacement. Randy joined the Port in 2000 as the Director of Engineering and is currently the Executive Deputy Director. We look forward to working with Randy in his new role.  

Port of Ilwaco Manager Jim Neva has also announced that he will retire from his position this summer. He will continue his involvement with the Port in his new role as public relations and external affairs specialist. Current port finance director/auditor Guy Glenn will be promoted to the position of Manager. Congratulations to both of them on their new opportunities.  

Karmen Fore, former Deputy Chief of Staff for Congressman Peter DeFazio, will also be moving into a new role as transportation advisor for Governor John Kitzhaber (OR). Karmen has been a champion for Oregon ports and infrastructure needs for many years. Congratulations to Karmen on her new position!  

In particular, Rep. Herrera Beutler highlighted the dredging needs at the Ports of Ilwaco and Chinook, whose navigation channels are vital to sustaining the local economy. Companies like Bell Buoy Crab, whose primary source of raw product is provided by fishing fleets out of the Port of Chinook, are in jeopardy of losing the ability to move vessels in and out of the channel. Dwight Eager, President of Bell Buoy, has stated that "the short term impact on Bell Buoy's operations would be the loss of its home fleet as it erodes due to the difficulty of navigating a shoaling entrance channel. This would stress the company's ability to obtain raw product and dramatically increase the costs of operations. Over a longer term it is hard for me to envision Bell Buoy remaining in business without the Port of Chinook and/or Chinook Channel being properly maintained."

Small ports dredging along the Oregon and Washington coasts has been a key part of PNWA's advocacy efforts for many years, but especially since FY2012 when the Corps was directed to cut their "low use" program by 50%. The Northwest Congressional delegation has been very active in support of this effort, working to secure small port funding in a multitude of venues including additional O&M funding specifically directed to these projects. In FY2014, PNWA continues to advocate for additional O&M funding of at least $30M designated to small ports nationally.  We are pleased to report that the FY2014 Energy & Water appropriations bills that passed out of the House and Senate Appropriations Committees this week each proposed a $30M funding pot for which small ports could compete. There is a long legislative road ahead before that funding could be made available, but this is a critical first step. We sincerely thank our Northwest delegation for continuing to champion this effort.

The PORTS '13 Conference, presented by the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) will take place at the Sheraton Hotel in Seattle, WA on August 25-28, 2013. For more information or to register for this event, please click on the link below.

http://content.asce.org/conferences/ports2013/index.html    

Please note that PNWA members will receive a discounted registration fee of $675 for the conference due to PNWA's cooperative organization status.

The East Columbia Basin Irrigation District has two job openings available for a Staff Engineer and a GIS/IT Technician. These positions close on July 5, 2013 at 5:00pm.  The District application must be submitted; to obtain a copy please contact mevangelisto@ecbid.org.  Applications can be returned via mail or email to jobs@ecbid.org.