Congress Releases WRRDA Conference Report, Boosts Maintenance, Dredging Mandates in HMT
Senate and House lawmakers released the Water Resources Reform and Development Act (WRRDA) conference report on May 15 after more than seven months of negotiations. The report targets full use by 2025 of the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund (HMTF) for harbor maintenance and dredging, with annual increases in use over the next ten years. Only half of the $1.8 billion paid by users and collectors into the fund annually is currently dedicated towards maintenance and dredging. The Senate and House still have to approve the report, before President Barack Obama can sign the bill into law.
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The bill provides for a minimum amount of funding for small ports. “WRRDA allocates 10 percent of annual HMTF expenditures for fiscal years 2015 and 2022 on harbors that have throughput of less than one million tons annually. This ensures that emerging ports, the needs of which have often been ignored, also receive an equitable share from the HMTF to improve their harbors and enhance their competitiveness,” said the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee (here). “In those years where expenditures from the HMTF are greater than fiscal year 2012 levels, 10 percent of funds above the FY 2012 baseline will be dedicated to emerging ports and 5 percent will be dedicated to underserved ports." Sens. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., and David Vitter, R-La., conferred on the legislation along with Reps. David Shuster, R-Pa., and Nick Rahall, D-W.Va. Both the House and Senate passed different versions of the bill in November 2013.
The WRRDA report defines a permanent cost-share provision for the Olmsted Lock and Dam, a controversial Kentucky project according to the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. Many conservative organizations lambasted federal funding for the Olmsted project in the bill, labeling it an earmark championed by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. (see 13102238).
Many industry groups and transportation advocates voiced support for the report, and the inclusion of Olmsted funding, as a significant step in the right direction. “Having waited seven long years since passage of the last water resources authorization bill, our U.S. member ports are extremely pleased to see a final reauthorization bill,” said American Association of Port Authorities President Kurt Nagle. “Our nation desperately needs this water resources legislation to fortify our infrastructure, create and maintain good-paying U.S. jobs, grow our economy and enhance America's international competitiveness.”
“The nation’s towboat operators, shippers, labor, port, conservation and agriculture group members that rely on an efficient, modern, viable waterways system -- are deeply grateful for the news of a strong WRRDA bill,” said Waterways Council President Michael Toohey in a press release. “This critical bill, that we urge President Obama to sign into law, will create American jobs, increase exports, keep our nation competitive in world markets, and enhance the reliability of the nation’s waterways transportation mode.”
Among other revisions to current law, the conference report streamlines Army Corps of Engineers’ project review process and increases Corps latitude in maintaining navigation during low water period, said American Soybean Association President Ray Gaesser while praising the report. “This is a huge step forward to ensure the continued success of the soybean supply chain, and leaders in both the House and Senate deserve a great deal of credit for shepherding this bill through a challenging policymaking climate.”