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rial, to streamline the federal per- mit process and establish a federal program for construction of disposal areas. In order to provide for imple- mentation of the National Dredging

Policy objectives, AAPA advocates the following legislative changes: • Establish a new section of the

Clean Water Act, separate from the 404 wetlands provisions, for per- mitting of the discharge of dredged material from navigational dredg- ing to EPA approved disposal areas, • Amend other provisions of the

CWA to emphasize the prevention of pollution that may contaminate sediments and to require consider- ation of the use and value of the waters and channels to navigation in establishing appropriate criteria and standards, and • Establish a comprehensive pro- gram under WRDA, clarifying a fed- eral responsibility for siting, con- struction and funding of confined and land-based disposal facilities for dredged material, in connection with construction of authorized federal navigation projects, that does not meet criteria for open water dis- posal.

Port Landside Access Needs

In addition to ensuring that navi- gation channels are clear and open for trade, there must be adequate access to the ports' cargo handling and terminal facilities from the landside. However, to assure ad- equate landside access, ports de- pend largely on federal government funding, funnelled through state and local government under the pro- visions of ISTEA.

ISTEA not only completely re- vamped our federal aid highway program, placing a new emphasis on intermodalism and freight trans- portation, but also specifically rec- ognized the importance of access to seaports. The Act provided more authority for decision-making at the local level and added some flexibil- ity in transferring funds between programs. Importantly, the lan- guage in ISTEA clearly recognized the national interest in an efficient freight transportation system as a critical factor in our country's abil- ity to compete in the international marketplace, and assure competi- tive prices for U.S. consumers.

However, after two years it is clear that ISTEA is not living up to its promise to expand transporta- tion planning and funding to meet national intermodal needs. Freight projects meeting national transpor- tation needs are not receiving a fair allocation of funding through the local decision-making process. The expression "freight doesn't vote" sums up the political reality at the local level—the needs of passenger traffic are considered first, and there is little or no thought to providing access to intermodal facilities han- dling freight. During recent out- reach meetings on ISTEA held by the Department of Transportation, participants clearly voiced the need to increase the focus on freight and afford it the priority it deserved.

Following up those meetings,

DOT included freight needs in its action plan. However, freight projects meeting national needs will not likely receive their fair share of federal aid unless and until the fed- eral government directs state and local governments to do so.

Secretary Pena's efforts to ex- pand the National Highway Sys- tem (NHS) into a National Trans- portation System (NTS) is a good step. However, in addition to that,

AAPA recommends that Congress consider the following changes: • ISTEA should be made truly intermodal by allowing the use of all program funds for rail freight projects (currently, only Congestion

Mitigation and Air Quality funds, which are limited, can be used for rail freight). Many worthwhile port rail freight access projects, for both rail bridges and double stack train access, have been rejected for fund- ing because of current limitations. • ISTEA should create a financial incentive to fund national need projects (particularly access to intermodal facilities) either through a separate funding source or a higher federal cost share for projects meeting certain criteria. • The Administration should de- velop and support innovative financ- ing ideas for transportation infra- structure projects.

Conclusion

The federal/local port partner- ship that has, since our country's very beginning, successfully devel- oped the nation's infrastructure in order to accommodate our waterborne commerce needs must now be reviewed and realigned. In an age of intermodalism and ex- panding global trading opportuni- ties, there are significant pressures to successfully modernize and effi- ciently operate a truly seamless intermodal transportation system.

Yet we also operate in a climate of environmental activism, increased political oversight at the local level, and fiscal austerity at all levels of government, each of which presents challenges at every turn, with the potential to derail our best efforts.

For the ports and all who depend on them, our fundamental and long- term goal is to generate broad-based public awareness of, and support for, investment in freight-related transportation infrastructure.

Ports, Corps Of Enginoors Plan To Improvo Partnership

Senior representatives from U.S. public port authorities and the U.S.

Army Corps of Engineers agreed on an action plan to strengthen their partnership.

The group identified future pri- orities, as well as ongoing activities that will contribute to a better work- ing relationship between the ports and Corps.

During a meeting in April in

Alexandria, Va., more than 30 se- nior port and Corps of Engineers representatives discussed ways to enhance communication and mu- tual understanding, according to the American Association of Port

Authorities (AAPA).

The meeting was a culmination of six regional workshops and one sub-regional workshop held over the past year between ports and representatives of the Corps.

AAPA President Erik Strom- berg said, "The Action Plan will enable the ports and Corps to work together on specific objectives to keep our navigation channels dredged and open for trade, consis- tent with environmental objectives."

The group agreed to address the following priority issues in the Ac- tion Plan: • Revise testing protocols for dredged material to eliminate out- dated testing requirements, assure reliability of tests and reflect risks to human health and the environ- ment. • Establish a high level forum to review policy issues, address con- flicts and resolve project disputes. • Improve federal, state and local coordination, including more fre- quent regional meetings between the ports and Corps and other agen- cies; and establish a common agenda and outreach programs. • Establish more predictability in the planning and construction of deep-draft channel navigation projects, including disposal of dredged material.

Specifically, it was agreed to move forward with the final revisions to navigation project cooperation agreements and to work to achieve a "powering-down" of the decision- making process, i.e., moving deci- sions down to the district and local level from the national level. • Support establishment of a na- tional dredging policy which: recog- nizes waterways as an important part of the national intermodal transportation system; identifies the expanded appropriate federal role in funding construction of confined disposal facilities; and considers the full range of benefits resulting from dredging projects.

AAPA members are calling on

Congress to amend the Clean Wa- ter Act (CWA) and to pass a 1994 reauthorization of the Water Re- sources Development Act (WRDA), to address the dredging problems ports around the country face to keep their navigation channels open for trade.

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