Issue 291 ��������������������
November 7, 2007
In this issue:
PNWA applauds veto override of water projects bill � celebrates
passage of dredge fleet language
PNWA
applauds veto override of water projects bill � celebrates passage of
dredge fleet language
We are excited to report that
Congress has successfully overridden the President�s veto of the 2007 Water
Resources Development Act (H.R.1495), and enacted the �WRDA� bill into
law.� On Tuesday night, the House
voted by an overwhelming margin of 361-54 to override the veto.� And today, the Senate voted by a margin
of 79-14 to complete the override, and enact the bill into law.
All Senators from Oregon, Washington, Idaho and California
and all House members from Oregon, Washington and Idaho
voted to override the veto. �This was
only the President�s fifth veto during his time in office, and the only one
to be overridden by Congress.
The Northwest Congressional
delegation unanimously supported this legislation throughout the year, and
has been critical in securing provisions of interest to PNWA members during
WRDA deliberations since the last WRDA bill was passed in 2000, up to the
success we are celebrating today.�
PNWA is especially grateful to Congressmen Peter DeFazio, Brian
Baird, Rick Larsen and Dave Reichert on the House Transportation and
Infrastructure Committee and Senators Barbara Boxer, Max Baucus and Larry
Craig from the Senate Environment & Public Works Committee for guiding
this bill toward completion.
West coast federal hopper dredge fleet restrictions
removed
After literally decades of effort
by PNWA, our membership and the Northwest Congressional delegation, we are
pleased to report that the enacted WRDA bill contained language that will lift
the artificial operating restrictions on the West Coast federal hopper dredges
Essayons
and Yaquina.
This will allow the Corps of Engineers to operate these two dredges to
maximize their efficiency, and will help address dredging costs, response
to emergencies, and the reliability of navigation channels up and down the
West Coast.
PNWA began addressing this issue
in the 1980s. �Congress reduced the
Corps hopper fleet to four dredges in 1978, in an effort to spur greater
participation by the private dredging industry. �In 1993, Congress put artificial restrictions
on the use of the remaining federal dredges, ultimately reducing annual work
days for the Yaquina
to 178 days per year and 180 for the Essayons.
PNWA�s members have maintained that it is more cost effective for these
dredges to operate as needed and as funding allows, rather than at an
arbitrary number of operating days per year.� Indeed, there have been many years when
work and funding were still available, yet the dredge had met its maximum
number of days and had to return to its berth to await the start of the new
fiscal year and the new count of days.
In 2002, PNWA conducted a study
funded by Northwest ports, steamship and tug boat operators, pilots and the
Oregon Economic & Community Development Department (OECDD), entitled
�Making the Case for the Federal Dredge Fleet�.� The study was released in May 2002, and
found that since restrictions were imposed on the federal fleet, the cost
per private bid had increased, and the number of private bids per
solicitation had decreased � the exact opposite of the intent of Congress
in imposing the restrictions.
After PNWA�s
study was released, Congress directed the GAO to study the dredge fleet.� The report �Effects of Restrictions on
Corps� Hopper Dredges Should Be Comprehensively Analyzed� was released by
the GAO in March 2003. �The report
concluded that operating restrictions imposed costs on the government, and
the benefits were largely unproven.�
Congress then directed the Corps to respond to the recommendations
of the GAO report.� Later that year,
the Corps took a small step forward and increased the Essayons� authorized work days from 180 to 192.� Lifting these restrictions will allow the
Corps to maximize the efficient use of both the federal and private
industry dredges necessary to maintain and improve navigation channels
along the west coast.
All Northwest Congressional
delegation members, past and present, have been supportive over the years. �PNWA�s
membership is especially appreciative of the leadership demonstrated by Senators
Patty Murray (D-WA), Ron Wyden (D-OR), and Barbara Boxer (D-CA), and
Representatives Peter DeFazio (D, OR-4), Brian Baird (D, WA-3), Darlene
Hooley (D, OR-5) and Norm Dicks (D, WA-6). �PNWA thanks these Members and the entire
Northwest delegation for the successful removal of these restrictions.
Section 214 regulatory funding authority extended to
2009
�Section 214� was first
authorized in WRDA 2000, and has been the subject of a great deal of PNWA
and stakeholder efforts to avert sunset over the last few years.� This authority allows non-federal
government entities to provide additional funding to expedite Corps permitting
activities, and is currently authorized through December 31, 2008.� This WRDA bill includes an extension of
the authority through December 31, 2009.
This extension is a positive
move forward, and PNWA and its members will continue to advocate that the
authority should eventually be made permanent so that it may be utilized
with predictability by Northwest stakeholders.� PNWA would like to thank Rep. Baird and
Sen. Murray for their leadership on this issue, and the entire Northwest
delegation for their ongoing support for this important program.
Deed and flowage easement restrictions lifted
The Ports of Clarkston, Whitman County,
and Pasco in Washington
state and the Port of Lewiston in Idaho have been limited in their use of
lands that were formerly owned by the Corps of Engineers.� The restrictions on the use of these
lands have been lifted in this WRDA bill, and will allow these ports to
develop the lands in ways that are most beneficial to the economic
development of their local communities.
Siltation at Baker
Bay and Ilwaco Harbor
(Ports of Ilwaco
& Chinook,
WA)
The bill included language that
would authorize a study to determine if siltation
at Baker Bay is tied to the flow of the
federal navigation channel.
Port of Sunnyside aquatic ecosystem restoration project
The WRDA bill contained language
that would allow the Port of Sunnyside�s past work on an aquatic ecosystem
restoration project in the Yakima River to
be credited toward the non-federal share of the project.� Rep. Doc Hastings (R, WA-4) has worked
with the Port for many years to address this project and insert this
language in the bill.
Elliott Bay Seawall in
Seattle
WRDA contained a provision
allowing the Corps to accept non-federal contributions for the Elliott Bay
Seawall study, and count those contributions toward the non-federal share
of any projects that become authorized as a result of the study.� The provision also allows the Corps to
consider seismic activity in the study.
Erosion control project for Puget
Island and Westport Beach
A provision in the bill will
authorize sections of Puget Island in Wahkiakum County,
Washington and Westport
Beach in Clatsop County, Oregon
to receive a one-time placement of dredged material, at a fully-funded
federal cost of $1M.
Attached are the press releases
that PNWA sent out to the media earlier today.�
For more information about WRDA,
please visit www.pnwa.net and click on �Water Resources Development Act�.
PNWA Staff
Contact: Kristin Meira
�
Pacific Northwest
Waterways
Association
www.pnwa.net
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