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Passage of WRDA would increase dredging dollars and alter the nation?s intermodal equation. Maritime stakeholders hold their breath. By Susan Buchanan Deferred dredging and maintenance for domestic ports, harbors and critical waterways means that vessels must car- ry less cargo. It?s that simple. Sometimes, they can?t move at all. When channels aren?t dredged to intended dimen- sions, all stakeholders ? manufacturers, agricultural inter- ests and vessel operators alike ? lose money. And the risk of ships grounding or colliding grows. It is no secret that the maritime industry wants to see funds collected by the federal Harbor Maintenance Tax (HMT) are fully used for maintenance dredging. The tax, implemented in 1986, is levied at $1.25 per $1,000 of car-go value on importers and domestic shippers using coastal or Great Lakes ports. Exporters don?t have to pay the tax following a Supreme Court decision in 1998. Revenue is held in the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund or HMTF. Congress appropriates money from that fund for dredging. Last month, the U.S. Senate passed the Water Resources and Development Act, a bill that would increase spend- ing on dredging using HMTF money. Sponsored by Re- publican David Vitter of Louisiana and Democrat Barbara Boxer of California, WRDA was approved on May 15 in a Senate vote of 83 to 14. Now, hopes are that the House will pass the bill.WRDA: DREDGING OUR WAY BACK Jim Walker, Director of Navigation Policy and Legisla- tion with the American Association of Port Authorities in Virginia, last month said ?Most major U.S. ports, par- ticularly those on the Atlantic and Gulf coasts have an annual, maintenance dredging requirement. The greatest challenge is the Mississippi River from Baton Rouge to the Gulf, where ooding and drought result in large varia- tions in annual dredging requirements.? He adds, ?This year?s ooding will make it a big dredging year on the lower Mississippi.? The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is responsible for Perilous Position for Ports Perilous Position for Ports Image above: Marine dredge E. W. Ellefsen working on the lower Mississippi River. www.marinelink.com MN 21MN June2013 Layout 18-31.indd 21MN June2013 Layout 18-31.indd 215/30/2013 11:07:50 AM5/30/2013 11:07:50 AM
