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The Importance of Our Nation’s Waterways Presented to Congressional Waterways Caucus Jim Walker HQUSACE 22 July 2009 Corps Navigation Mission Provide safe, reliable, efficient, effective and environmentally sustainable waterborne transportation systems for movement of commerce, national security needs, and recreation. Marine Transportation System • USACE maintains 25,000 miles of waterways – Over 900 projects and 13,000 miles of channels – 12,000 miles inland/intracoastal and 241 nav locks • Coastal ports serve 28 states and inland waterways serve 38 states • Inland and Intracoastal waterways connect our ports to interior markets Marine Transportation System • More than 95% of overseas trade moves through our ports • Over 25% of Nation’s economic activity depends on foreign trade • U.S. maritime industry supports nearly $1 Trillion in commerce, creates more than 13 million jobs, and handles more than 2.3 billion tons of commerce • Most US jobs depend in one form or another on the flow of goods through our ports and harbors Ports: Vital to Trade and US Economy Anacortes Seattle Tacoma Kalama Two Harbors Duluth/Superior Portland Presque Isle Portland Boston Richmond Oakland 53 harbors – coastal, inland, Great Lakes handled over 10 million tons each in 2007… Detroit Chicago Toledo Indiana Hbr Cleveland Baltimore Cincinnati Long Beach New York/NJ Lower Delaware River (9 harbors) Newport News Norfolk Huntington St. Louis Los Angeles New Haven Pittsburgh Memphis Million Tons Charleston Savannah Jacksonville Baton Rouge Pascagoula Barbers Pt Honolulu Valdez Lake Charles Houston Mobile Texas City Tampa Plaquemines Freeport Port Arthur Matagorda Beaumont New Orleans Corpus Christi S. Louisiana San Juan Over 100 50 - 100 25 - 50 10 - 25 Port Everglades Goods to Market or ‘Ships to Shelves’ Export 18% Import 47% 36% Cargo Value and Cost • Tons • Cargo Value • USACE funding Coastal 1.7B $340B $1.01B Inland 622M $98B $866M Inland Nav Commodities All Others <1% Manufactured 1% Food & Farm Prod 13% Primary Manufactured 4% Coal 29% Crude Materials 18% Chemicals 8% Petro & Petro Prod 27% Total 2007 Volume: 622 Million Tons Coastal Nav Commodities Petro Coal All Others Food & Farm Primary Manu Goods Crude Materials Chem & Rel Prod Economic Benefits Navigation Benefits are Transportation cost savings and fall under 2 categories: National Economic Development benefits Regional or local benefits Transportation cost savings Economies of scale (coastal) Transportation rate savings (inland) • Oakland Harbor • Greenup Lock • NY/NJ Deepening Benefit/Cost Ratio 8.5 4.6 2.7 Performance • Inland: Unscheduled Lock Closures – Greater than 24 hours due to mechanical breakdowns – Trend: Unscheduled closures increasing – Impact: Threatens reliable delivery of product • Coastal: Channel Availability – Half channel width on High Use projects – Trend: Channel availability decreasing – Impact: Efficiency loss, cost per ton increase Navigation Trust Funds • Coastal: Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund – Ad valorem tax, 0.125% of cargo value – Reimburse 100% of Operation and Maintenance – Revenue: $1.6B, Appropriated: $700M – Projected FY09 ending balance: $5.4B Navigation Trust Funds • Inland: Inland Waterways Trust Fund – Fuel tax, $0.20 per gallon – 50% of Construction and Major Rehab – Revenue: $85M, Appropriate: $85M Marine Transportation • Keeping America’s goods globally competitive • Cost Effective • Fuel Efficient • Environmentally Friendly • Capable of increased use Osprey Line Baton Rouge, LA