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Waterway Trust Fund (IWTF). The trust fund is used to supplement fed- eral funding for major lock rehabili- tation and construction projects on inland waterways. Current legislation doesn?t allow any of the funds to be used for maintenance projects and since Corps projects on the AIWW require maintenance funds they are not eligible to receive funds from the IWTF. Funding for navigable waters is calculated by ton miles. And because at present, the AIWW is considered to be a low use waterway, it isn?t eligible for much in the way of help. To be fair, North Carolina has seen $1.89 million, but no other AIWW state.Finally, the Intracoastal Waterway is also used extensively by recreational boaters. Studies have shown that rec- reational boaters bring millions, and in the case of Florida, billions of dol- lars to state budgets. The waterway is also a safe navigation channel used by vessels not equipped for ocean travel or for when weather conditions make the ocean too rough to travel. THE ENVIRONMENT Even the most vociferous oppo- nents of increased spending on the AIWW would have to concede that the most energy-ef cient way to move commodities such as coal, grain, iron, steel, aggregates, petroleum and chemical products is to use the na- tion?s navigable rivers. Barges can move one ton of cargo 576 miles per gallon of fuel. A rail car would move the same ton of cargo 413 miles, and a truck only 155 miles. The Table shown shown to the left amply dem- onstrates this fact.ECONOMICSEven at current depths, the value of the AIWW is easy to calculate. To get a perspective of what it could produce if properly dredged, consider that a 2006 North Carolina Report to the North Carolina Sea Grant Program, the North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources (NCDENR) (among others) on the Economic Impacts and Economic Bene ts of Recreational Boating Along the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway (AIWW) in North Carolina showed that the AIWW produces $257 mil- lion in annual sales, over 4,000 jobs, $124 million in wages, $35.6 Million in federal taxes and fees and $21.4 million in state taxes and fees. A simi- lar survey in Georgia claims $33 mil- lion is total revenue generated by the INLAND INFRASTRUCTUREwww.marinelink.com MN 29MN November2013 Layout 18-31.indd 29MN November2013 Layout 18-31.indd 2910/28/2013 3:19:50 PM10/28/2013 3:19:50 PM
