Page 20: of Marine News Magazine (September 2016)

19 21

FINANCE

Rethinking Inland Infrastructure Finance

P3: An alternative to tolls or lockage fees in public-private partnerships for inland waterways.

By James A. Kearns

Within the generally sorry state of tive solutions to fund the refurbishment or replacement the U.S. inland waterways infrastruc- of these locks and dams. Both organizations gave detailed ture, there are some locations where presentations of similar solutions at the 12th Annual Wa- conditions are particularly dire. Among terways Symposium in New Orleans in November 2015.

those in this latter situation are several

UBLIC RIVATE ARTNERSHIPS locks and dams on the Illinois River, in- P /P P cluding the La Grange Lock and Dam Both organizations propose using public-private part- and the Peoria Lock and Dam, both of nerships in which some of the funding would be provided which were completed in 1939. Both by private parties in some combination of debt and equity.

Kearns of them are on the U.S. National Reg- As has been previously recognized with other public-pri- ister of Historic Places, which is a dubious distinction for vate partnership proposals, such a structure needs to in- a major transportation facility of the twenty-? rst century. clude a revenue source to provide economic return to the

The farmers in Illinois provide a signi? cant portion private party lender or equity investor. Both the ICGA and of our nation’s corn and soybean crops, and the Illinois the ISA proposals include payments in the nature of fees or

River plays an important role in getting those crops from charges to be paid based on usage of the locks in order to the farms in Illinois to the Mississippi River and thence generate this revenue.

to New Orleans for export. It would be a major hardship By and large, the inland waterways industry has op- for many corn and soybean growers in Illinois if either of posed having such lock usage fees, by whatever name they the La Grange or Peoria lock and dam facilities were to might be called, as an element of any proposed public- become inoperable. However, there remain many compet- private partnership for funding improvements to the in- ing needs for new construction, rehabilitations and major land waterways infrastructure. In April of this year, for repairs throughout the inland waterways system, and the example, Waterways Council, Inc. submitted letters to the funding provided by Congress never addresses more than a Senate Environment and Public Works Committee and small fraction of these needs. the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee

Corn and soybean growers in Illinois are understandably signed by 75 organizations, including carriers, shippers, worried, therefore, that one or both of the La Grange or port authorities, labor unions, and trade associations (in-

Peoria lock and dam facilities might fail before the nec- cluding several agricultural industry groups), opposing the essary money is found to keep that from happening. Re- imposition of tolls or lockage fees on inland waterways ? ecting this concern, two organizations representing these transportation. This opposition is repeatedly voiced by constituencies—the Illinois Corn Growers Association representatives of the inland waterways industry at confer- (ICGA) and the Illinois Soybean Association (ISA)—have ences and in publications whenever any suggestion of such recently conducted extensive studies and proposed alterna- tolls or lockage fees arises.

Photo: Ruben Diaz

September 2016

MN 20

MN Sept16 Layout 18-31.indd 20 8/22/2016 10:03:00 AM