November/December 2013
■
The Port of Baltimore
[
11
]
McAllister Towing
of Baltimore
WWW
.
MCALLISTERTOWING
.
COM
Photo: Kathy Smith
LEGISLATION
House Approves Water Resources Reform Act
A
n $8 billion water bill known as the Water Resources Reform and
Development Act was passed by the House of Representatives on Oct. 23.
The legislation, which paves the way for harbor maintenance projects,
easily passed a normally divided House of Representatives with a 417-3 vote.
Although it differs slightly from the Senate version of the bill, the fact that both
the Senate and House have passed forms of a Water Resources Development Act
(WRDA) indicates this might be the first year since 2007 that a final version of the
Act will pass.
“What happens is you have a long queue of projects waiting to get
authorization,” said Frank Hamons, who recently retired as Harbor Development
Director for the Maryland Port Administration (MPA).
The Senate version of the bill includes provisions for the state to continue using
Poplar Island to place dredged materials, while the House bill does not, but both
versions allow for the creation of a new mid-Chesapeake Bay island off the Dorchester
County coast. About 2 million cubic yards of silt are dredged annually from Bay
channels to keep them open, and Hamons pointed out that as the bigger post-
Panamax ships call on Baltimore, harbor maintenance will be even more critical.
Panamax ships once were 106 feet wide, but in 2015 they’ll be 160 feet wide, and it’s
critical that ships headed in opposite directions be able to safely pass.
Both the House and Senate bills also require that the federal government spend
money on harbor projects that has been collected through the Harbor Maintenance
Trust Fund, an industry tax. Although the money has been collected from ports
nationwide, including some $40 million collected in Baltimore in 2012, it hasn’t
always been allocated for port projects.
TRADE DEVELOPMENT
Governor Joined by
MPA Officials in Brazil
F
ocused on strengthening
economic and cultural ties
between Maryland and South
and Central America, Governor Martin
O’Malley and a delegation of Maryland
business leaders, educators and
government officials traveled to Brazil
and El Salvador on a trade mission in
early December.
“We must continue to forge
new connections, partnerships and
investments abroad,” Gov. O’Malley said.
“The diverse, expanding economies of
Brazil and El Salvador are ideal trade and
investment partners for our State.”
Among the delegation accompanying
the Governor was Maryland Port
Administration (MPA) Executive Director
James J. White and Richard Powers,
Director, Trade Development. Brazil is the
Port of Baltimore’s fourth-largest market
for exports.
