the benefits of making improvements are foregone for
many years. As we continue to lengthen project comple-
tion times to well past the 20-year mark, completion
costs, transportation penalties, and maintenance costs all
continue upward. There are also a number of bridges on
our waterways that have been designated by the Coast
Guard as Obstructions to Navigation, with orders for their
alteration or replacement having been issued as well, yet
their replacement remains unfunded. These structures
pose hazards both to navigational interests as well as
those who use the bridges.
Finally, although not a physical bottleneck, it is long past
time for us to reconsider how we maintain "balance" with
our Federal support of environmentally based initiatives,
and our basic needs as a growing, energy based economy
that finds itself competing daily in a world market. I am
hearing more and more talk in the news these days from
major industry decisionmakers that they will not plan any
extensive expansion in the United States in the future
because of our requirements for permission to build here.
Our need for a National Energy Policy is more critical
than many of us realize.
Because of the very nature of the benefits afforded by
inland waterway transportation we are taking proactive
measures to preserve the environment when we foster the
maintenance and expanded use of our waterways. We
should consider these facts when faced with the choice of
where to place funding. We can unintentionally reduce
opportunities to improve our environment by adding
"environmentally specifc" options to waterway projects,
which can financially "weigh down" the entire project
making it fall beyond means of justification. This prac-
tice can result in no project at all, and continuation of "the
same old way of doing business". In the end, the envi-
ronment, as well as industry, both lose.
Rick Calhoun • Cargill
MN: What is the most important message about the
inland waterways industry that needs to be conveyed to
the media and policymakers?
Calhoun: I think this question has been at the forefront
of this industry for a very long time and I am afraid I don't
have a unique or particularly insightful answer. I per-
sonally have spoken to this issue on a number of occa-
sions. That said, I don't think you can reinforce it enough.
This country needs a viable inland waterways system in
the United States. Not only to move grain and other agri-
cultural products to market in a cost-efficient manner, but
to also move imported and domestic goods up the river to
markets. We need a viable, dependable system in order to
serve customers. In my role at Cargill, I deal with all the
major rail carriers in this country as well as the barge
industry. The rail infrastructure in some parts of this
country is at or near capacity. Carriers are pushing busi-
ness away. Our highways are congested with trucks. It
has been said a thousand times but the inland waterway
28 • MarineNews • June, 2005
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