2008 FEDERAL LEGISLATIVE AGENDA

Great Lakes Harbor Dredging
Congress should provide adequate funds in the Fiscal Year 2009 Energy and Water Development Appropriations Bill to address the backlog of dredging projects at Great Lakes ports, with particular focus on the following under-funded locations:

Marine Infrastructure Renewal

Soo Lock Construction
The Water Resources Development Act of 2007 directed the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to proceed with construction of a new large lock on the St. Marys River at Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan.  The authorized cost of the project is $341 million.  Congress should provide $17 million in the Fiscal Year 2009 Energy and Water Development Appropriations Bill (Army Corps of Engineers construction budget) for the first year of work on the project.

Seaway Lock Rehabilitation
The Water Resources Development Act of 2007 authorized the Secretary of Transportation to spend up to $134 million to repair and rehabilitate the Eisenhower and Snell locks on the St. Lawrence River in upstate New York.  Originally constructed in 1959, the locks connect the Great Lakes to the Atlantic Ocean and provide Great Lakes states with access to world trade.  Congress should support the Administration's budget request of $31.8 million for the St. Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation.  These funds will not only support the Seaway's annual operating expenses, but also include $17.5 million for the first year of a 10-year program to rehabilitate the Seaway's lock infrastructure.

Aquatic Nuisance Species
Congress should enact comprehensive legislation to control the introduction and spread of aquatic nuisance species (ANS) via ships' ballast water. ANS legislation should create a uniform, federal regulatory program requiring the treatment of ships' ballast water, establish a ballast water treatment standard, establish deadlines by which vessel owners have to install treatment systems, authorize federal research programs focused on ballast water treatment technology, and establish an orderly technology verification and approval system.

Short Sea Shipping
Congress should enact H.R. 981 / S. 1683, legislation exempting the movement of certain cargo from the U.S. Harbor Maintenance Tax as a means of encouraging the movement of freight from congested highway systems to marine alternatives.

Maritime Research

Great Lakes Maritime Research Institute
The Great Lakes Maritime Research Institute (GLMRI) serves the needs of the maritime industry by sponsoring industry/university research partnerships. Congress should provide $2 million in the Fiscal Year 2009 Transportation & Housing and Urban Development Appropriations Bill to continue the Institute's work.

Great Ships Initiative
Established in 2006, the Great Ships Initiative (GSI) is a cooperative effort between industry, academia, federal agencies, and non-governmental organizations to help end ship mediated introductions of aquatic nuisance species into the Great Lakes.  The project provides technical assistance to those companies working to develop effective ballast water treatment technology. Congress should provide $1 million in the Fiscal Year 2009 Transportation & Housing and Urban Development Appropriations Bill to continue the GSI program.