Water Resources Development Act

Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) of 2024 set to become law

Senate Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Sam Graves (R-Mo.) and Water Resources and Environment Subcommittee Chairman David Rouzer (R-N.C.) have commended the full U.S. Senate for approving the Thomas R. Carper Water Resources Development Act of 2024 (WRDA), legislation to improve U.S. ports and harbors, inland waterway navigation, flood and storm protection, and other aspects of the national water resources infrastructure.

The measure was previously approved by the House on...

https://www.marinelog.com/inland-coastal/water-resources-development-act-wrda-of-2024-set-to-become-law/

Charleston Harbor Deepening Project Completed Two Years Early

Credits: Zan Baldwin/ Unsplash
  • The shipping channel’s new depth allows for two ships to come and go at once regardless of the tidal restrictions for the first time ever.
  • The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and multiple dredging partners helped make the project a reality.
  • Before the process began, there were years of work to get the project to the starting line.

The Charleston Harbor is now 52 feet deep after the eighth project to dig to a greater depth in the harbor’s history, reported by Counton.

P...

https://mfame.guru/charleston-harbor-deepening-project-completed-two-years-early/

Port of Los Angeles outlines spending plans for new tax funds

The Port of Los Angeles plans to take advantage of changes made to a tax aimed at maintaining harbor depths by using it to fund upgrades needed to accommodate the port’s growing cargo and cruise ship business.

Testifying Tuesday at a subcommittee of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, Port of Los Angeles Executive Director Gene Seroka said that the historical defined uses of the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund (HMTF) prevented the port from accessing those monies – even though...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/port-of-los-angeles-outlines-spending-plans-for-new-tax-funds

Congress finds money for Great Lakes projects

After weeks of on-again/off-again negotiations, Congress finally reached agreement on a massive legislative package to fund the federal government for FY2021. The legislation was approved by the House and Senate late Monday night.

Among the bill’s many provisions is the entire text of the Water Resources Development Act of 2020, and FY2021 appropriations for key Great Lakes programs.

Water Resources Development Act of 2020

Due to some last-minute tinkering by legislators, the final text of WRDA...

https://www.workboat.com/news/coastal-inland-waterways/congress-finds-money-for-great-lakes-projects/

MSC VP: Ocean containers must get ‘smarter’

The COVID-19 pandemic has put a spotlight on the need for digitization in the ocean container carrier industry, according to MSC’s vice president of imports.

“Our objective is to make the container a smarter object,” Tom Hughes said during a Port Houston-hosted webinar on the state of imports Thursday.

The rise and fall of coronavirus outbreaks has made for “a very dynamic situation” and requires close collaboration among the shipping lines and their port partners, customers and intermodal...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/msc-vp-ocean-containers-must-get-smarter

Q&A: Tracy Zea, new chief of the Waterways Council

On July 8, Tracy R. Zea was named the new president and CEO of the Waterways Council Inc., which advocates for modern and well-financed inland waterways on behalf of river carriers, ports and shippers. He has been the WCI’s vice president of government relations since 2015, and prior to that served as an aide to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, which oversees federal waterways policy. In this interview, Zea talks about advocating for the waterways during the pandemic...

https://www.workboat.com/news/coastal-inland-waterways/qa-tracy-zea-new-chief-of-the-waterways-council/

Coronavirus bill contains win for maritime industry

Seafarers fear for their jobs as McCain and others fight to trash Jones Act. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers photo by Billy Birdwell.

It took a pandemic for Congress to finally make a long-sought change to the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund (HMTF) that would allow the full amount of deposits to the fund to be used to finance dredging of coastal and inland harbors and ports.

The change is tucked inside the expansive $2 trillion emergency aid bill passed by Congress two weeks ago to help the nation respond to the coronavirus outbreak.

Known as the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act (CARES), the legislation provides...

https://www.workboat.com/news/coastal-inland-waterways/coronavirus-bill-contains-win-for-maritime-industry/