Relieving traffic bottlenecks by funding multimodal projects, modernizing and fully maintaining federal navigation channels and increasing port security grants funding are recommendations the American Association of Port Authorities sent to the Trump transition team.
These areas, AAPA said, are opportunities to help US businesses better compete in markets at home and abroad and 'Make America Great Again,' the incoming president's campaign pledge.
'President-elect Trump has put forth an ambitious goal of investing up to $1 trillion to rebuild America’s infrastructure, for which freight transportation and ports are vital components,' AAPA president and ceo Kurt Nagle said. 'An enhanced focus on freight transportation and ports would help achieve the new administration’s goal of building a better economic future for America.'
AAPA wants additional FAST Act investments and a sustainable freight trust fund for multimodal projects. The association urges establishing a 'properly funded and staffed' Office of Multimodal Freight Transportation within the Department of Transportation’s Office of the Secretary and funding for a robust StrongPorts program under the Maritime Administration.
AAPA's wish list also includes investments for authorized marine highway projects to ensure transportation alternatives along congested landside transportation corridors. And the association urges increasing funding for transportation infrastructure grants to $1.25bn per year.
When it comes to federal navigation channels, AAPA wants harbor maintenance tax spending made a priority, and increased funding for HMT maintenance spending in the 2018 budget.
The association advocates more federal investment in navigation channel deepening and widening, improving efficiencies in the deep-draft study and construction process and progress on finishing navigation projects in a timely manner.
Providing operations and maintenance funding for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Physical Oceanic Real-Time System, or PORTS, to help mariners navigate safely, is important, too.
AAPA is further asking the Trump administration raise the Federal Emergency Management Administration’s Port Security Grant Program funding to at least $100m per year.
Relevant to cruise and cargo operations, AAPA advocates 500 additional Customs and Border Protection maritime staff for seaports.
Trump has indicated he would dramatically shrink the Environmental Protection Agency, but AAPA would like to see increased funding for EPA's Diesel Emissions Reduction Act program.
The association further calls for a 21st Century Port Portfolio within the Department of Energy that allows ports and the DOE to partner on new technologies that reduce air emissions, connect ports to the grid and provide electrification for port operations. Support for new clean energy terminal designs and build-outs is another AAPA request.
Nagle noted America’s seaport activity accounts for more than a quarter of the national economy and supports over 23m jobs. He said ports and their private-sector partners plan to invest nearly $155bn into infrastructure over the next five years.
'Leveraging federal investments in seaport and freight-related programs will yield huge dividends in the form of economic growth, maintaining and creating jobs, enhancing America’s international competitiveness and sustaining a healthy environment,' Nagle said.
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