Page 44: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (June 1999)

Market Reports • Inland process," Brescia concluded. "We have lost faith in a system where our region contributes 40 percent to a trust fund and receives 15 percent back. We have lost faith in the USACE."

Fuel Tax Repeal and WRDA

One of the major issues lobbied for by the American Waterways Operators, was a repeal of the 4.3 cent "deficit reduc- tion" fuel tax paid by railroads and inland waterways carriers. The Trans- portation Tax Equity and Fairness Act was introduced in the House of Repre- sentatives by Rep. Kenny Hulshof (R-

Mo.), along with 22 co-sponsors, as

H.R.I001; and was introduced in the

Senate by John Chafee (R-R.I.), John

Breaux (D-La.) and Jim Jeffords (R-

Vt.) as S.820. Additionally, the Senate passed S. 507, the Water Resources

Development Act, which authorizes

USACE's navigation, flood control and dredging projects. The bill was held up in the House of Representatives last year in a dispute over the Auburn Dam on the

American River near Sacramento. The

Senate moved swiftly in 1999 to recon- sider and pass the legislation.

As introduced, WRDA 99 retains its predecessor's "Challenge 21" program, which encourages the agency to pursue '"non-structural' flood control and river- ine ecosystem restoration projects, tak- ing a watershed-based approach to flood prevention," according to a bill summa- ry. Such projects could include estuary and wetlands restoration, voluntary removal of structures in floodplains and improved flood warning systems. The bill would also authorize the initial design work for several lock extension and rehabilitation projects on the Upper

Mississippi and Illinois Rivers.

In the House, Congressmen John

Doolitle (R-Calif.) and Bob Matsui (D-

Calif.), representing two sides of the

Auburn Dam issue, reached a compro- mise, and the bill was scheduled for consideration by the House Transporta- tion and Infrastructure Committee. The compromise created a new dispute over

American River water rights, and ulti- mately led to subcommittee passage of the bill on a party line vote. The final vote in committee to report the bill out was not a party line vote, but several

Democrats on the committee voted against the bill to show their dissatisfac- tion with the resolution of the Auburn

Dam issue. The bill will now proceed to the floor for consideration, and, if passed, to a conference with the Senate to work out differences in the two bills.

The House bill authorizes approximate- ly three million dollars in USACE pro- jects, while the Senate's bill authorizes a level of approximately $2.25 million.

Safety Legislation

Despite the concerns of infrastructure funding, lawmakers are still endeavor- ing to ensure the safety of the expected increase in maritime traffic, since it seems nearly inevitable. For example, one of the requirements of OPA 90 was a phase-out schedule for single-hull tank vessels with double sides or a dou- ble-bottom. The schedule will grant these vessels an additional five years operation, but no single-hull tank ves- sels carrying oil in bulk will be permit- ted to operate in the U.S. after Jan. 1, 2015.

The USCG announced it will grant no extensions of OPA 90 phase-out dates for single-hull tank vessels converted to vessels with a double bottom or double sides unless the conversion was com- pleted before Aug. 18, 1990.

In addition, the USCG has agreed to take a second look at developing a

Streamlined Inspection Program (SIP) for tank barges. The program has been ig®JjWi

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