US inland waterways recommendations to go to Congress

The report and recommendations are being sent to Congress and if adopted, will better address the needs of the entire system and provide more investment for greatly needed infrastructure improvements. The Users Board is a federal advisory committee that provides advice to Congress and the Assistant Secretary of the Army (Civil Works).

The proposal is supported by industry stakeholders and the government as a way to fund the navigation system and would replace the imposition of a lockage fee that is strongly opposed by Waterways Council Inc. (WCI), the American Waterways Operators (AWO), and the National Waterways Conference (NWC), as well as many Members of Congress.

The recommendations and report prioritise navigation projects across the entire system, improve the Corps of Engineers’ project management and processes to deliver projects on time and on budget, and propose a funding mechanism that is affordable and meets the system’s needs.