briefs
USACE Budget Cuts Funding
President Bush's FY 2009 proposed budget reduces new federal funding for Inland Waterways Trust Fund (IWTF)-financed projects by more than $109 million from last year's levels. The budget request proposes FY '09 spending of $309.6 million for Inland Waterways Trust Fundfinanced projects, with $167 million coming from the dedicated Inland Waterways Trust Fund, paid for by commercial users of the waterways. The remainder would come from general treasury funds, as required under current law. The President's FY '09 budget request is the lowest funding recommendation for IWTFfunded projects since FY '05. The proposed FY 2009 budget also requests federal funding for the entire U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Civil Works program of $4.741b. Last year's (FY '08) budget request was $4.871 billion. "This FY 2009 budget sends a confusing signal about the Administration's understanding of our Nation's critically important inland waterways system," said R. Barry Palmer, President and CEO of Waterways Council, Inc. "It funds at optimum levels only seven high priority projects, while it provides only partial funding for three important projects whose construction schedules will slip and whose costs will continue to escalate. The 80-year-old Inner Harbor Navigation Canal project, first authorized for replacement in 1957 and then successively at different times in the 1980s and 1990s, again would receive no funding.
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vessels
Three critical major rehabilitation projects on the Upper Mississippi River were also cut," he continued. The Administration's support for WCI's priority projects includes funding for Olmsted Locks and Dam (Ohio River, IL/KY), $114 million; McAlpine Lock (Ohio River, IN/KY), $6.3 million; Marmet (Kanawha River, WV), $9 million; Lower Monongahela River 2, 3 and 4 (PA); $40.8 million; Chickamauga Lock (Tennessee River, TN), $42 million, Emsworth Dam (Ohio River, PA), $25.8 million, and the Lockport Major Rehabilitation (Illinois Waterway, IL), $28.6 million. $22.3 million was proposed for the Kentucky Lock Addition (Tennessee River, KY), only one-third of the funding needed to keep the project on schedule and close to its authorized cost. For the second time, the Administration indicated plans to propose a fee imposed on commercial barges using locks operated by the Corps. This fee would be phased in beginning October 1, 2008, with increases each year through December 31, 2012. This proposal would eliminate the current diesel fuel tax of 20-cents-per-gallon presently being levied on towboat operators who move commerce on America's inland navigation system. "This plan for a barge lockage fee, according to budget documents, would be designed to double the taxes on the industry, generating approximately $190m annually by 2013," said Palmer.
VT Halter Wins PSV Contracts
VT Halter Marine won a contract for the design and construction of two Platform Supply Vessels (PSV) for L&M Botruc Rental Inc. The contract is valued at between $45-$55m. Physical construction is scheduled to begin in the second quarter of 2008 with deliveries of the two vessels scheduled in 2010. Measuring 230 x 56 x 18-ft., the completed PSVs will be used to carry supplies, deck cargo, and drilling fluids used in the support of exploration and offshore production of energy sources. PSVs are highly automated and designed with sophisticated control and monitoring systems. Each vessel will be equipped with a DP-2 (Dynamic Position with redundancy) that will provide precise maneuvering capability through the use of a special combination of thrusters that are equipped with controllable pitch propellers.
Ribcraft to First Responders
Ribcraft reaffirmed its commitment to first responders with a series of recent deliveries to Milford Fire Department in Connecticut, Minetto Fire Rescue in New York, Carver Fire Department in Massachusetts, and Corpus Christi Fire Department in Texas.
March 2008