Page 22: of Marine News Magazine (March 2020)

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COLUMN INLAND WATERWAYS

The National Freight

Strategic Plan and the

Inland Waterways

By James Kearns

The Fixing America’s Surface Trans- industries and companies that serve and utilize our inland portation (FAST) Act was enacted in rivers, ports and terminals. I am the Secretary-Treasurer of

December 2015. The FAST Act re- IRPT and I assisted the association’s Executive Director, quired the U.S. Department of Trans- Aimee Andres, in the preparation of these comments.

portation (DOT) to develop a Na- We hear frequently about the 24,000 commercially tional Freight Strategic Plan to address navigable miles of inland and intracoastal waterways that multimodal freight transportation. In move domestic and international cargo in America’s mari- the Federal Register of December 27, time transportation system. But what transforms those 2019, DOT requested information thousands of miles of waterways into a freight transporta-

Kearns from the public, including industry tion system are the ports and terminals that are on them. trade groups, to aid development of the Inland and small coastal ports and private terminals are

National Freight Strategic Plan. critically important for domestic uses and export of agri-

This article summarizes certain of the comments that culture, mining, chemical, energy and other commodities. were submitted by Inland Rivers, Ports and Terminals, Inc. The National Freight Strategic Plan relies on a second (IRPT) in response to DOT’s request. IRPT is a nonpro? t strategic planning tool that the FAST Act requires DOT trade association with nearly 300 members nationwide to develop, namely, the National Multimodal Freight Net- that advocates for our nation’s inland waterways and the work. At present, DOT has developed only the interim © Gerard Corprew / Adobe Stock

March 2020 22 MN