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INLAND WATERWAYS OUTLOOK “How can you justify withdrawing $115 million/year from the commercial operators, who then pass that on to their customers, and say that’s not a justi? ed expenditure and therefore we’re just going to keep the money in the Trust Fund? That’s ridiculous.” – Mike Toohey, WCI President and CEO smaller but still important programs: Mississippi River and competitive South American breadbasket with similar aspi-

Tributary expenditures, for example, and ? ood control pro- rations, those words have especially dire meaning.

grams and, of course, staff and administrative functions. As always, with infrastructure, there’s never enough mon- ey. Spending policies are important and this is where big

Time for Action differences emerge between the Administration and Con-

For maritime businesses, these are critical numbers, with gress. For example, the Administration does not propose consequences. Mary Lamie, P.E., Executive Director of the spending all of the money in the Inland Waterways Trust

St. Louis Regional Freightway, points out that “global buy- Fund (IWTF), paid for by the $0.29/gallon tax on mari- ers are paying attention to our Nation’s waterway system. time diesel fuel. To be fair, President Obama similarly with-

Any time there is inef? ciency those buyers are going to look held trust fund revenue, but for FY18, President Trump’s at the competition; they are going to go to countries to ? nd team would use just $29 million of the $105 million col- a network whose logistics will deliver the capacities they lected last year. The Congressional bills use all the money.

need.” For Midwest farmers competing with an increasing Another nettlesome issue for Congress, and others, is

Credit: WCI, Inc.

Severe deterioration of infrastructure at the Lagrange Lock and Dam in Illinois.

November 2017

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