ILTA lauds Congressional passage of bill boosting port, harbor funding

Kathryn Clay, president of the International Liquid Terminals Association, today lauded Congressional passage of the Water Resources Development Act of 2020. The U.S. House of Representatives unanimously passed S.1811, a compromise bill, on December 8, while the Senate passed the measure late last night, as part of a broad federal spending and coronavirus relief bill.

“During this period of increased partisanship in Washington, we were particularly pleased to see lawmakers work together to fund the maintenance, construction and improvement of our nation’s harbors, inland waterways and ports. Water infrastructure is critical to facilitate the trade we will require to help our economy recover and position the nation for long-term growth. 

“This legislation invests heavily in our nation’s ports, harbors and inland waters. It unlocks the Harbor Maintenance Trust (port dredging) authority to include some $2 billion in additional funds annually for harbor maintenance needs from the existing balance of the HMTF. When combined with the CARES Act, WRDA 2020 provides a total of $3.5 billion to $4 billion in annual spending on port maintenance. Importantly, the bill provides more equitable allocation of harbor maintenance expenditures, while addressing the ongoing needs of the nation’s largest energy-transfer and commercial strategic seaports. The bill also invests additional federal resources in the construction of inland waterway projects, which are often connected to terminals. 

“ILTA applauds Congress for making port, harbor and inland waterway infrastructure investment a priority by including it in the broad federal spending and coronavirus relief bill. We urge President Trump to sign this legislation into law.”