The Public Port Industrys Top Recommendations to Secretary LaHood

By: Mike Leone, American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA) 2009-2010 Chairman of the Board and Port Director for the Massachusetts Port Authority.


This February in San Diego, port leaders met with Department of Transportation (DOT) Secretary Ray LaHood for a first-ever National Port Summit. The meeting was convened by the Secretary to seek recommendations on how his agency could provide leadership and assist in resolving key challenges facing public ports today. Our marching orders as an industry were to identify the three to five top challenges. In response, the industry came up with four pressing issues that were outlined in a letter to the Secretary and they are briefly described below.

1. Establishing a national freight strategy and related programs:

The creation of a national freight strategy is crucial to developing a well-planned, world-class transportation system in the U.S. The first step for the process is the immediate establishment of a multi-modal freight office, led by an official at least at the assistant secretary level, within the office of the Secretary. Additionally, freight transportation must be a high priority in surface transportation re-authorization, with policy and programs focused on:

• reducing congestion
• enhancing the environment
• creating and maintaining jobs
• and helping make U.S. exports more competitive in the global marketplace

This policy should encompass port, road, rail and waterside infrastructure needs to help move freight more efficiently. Critical to a national freight strategy are increased investments in intermodal freight connectors to ports, projects and corridors of national and regional significance, marine highways and rail expansion.

2. Dedicating federal funding for port infrastructure and port access:

Our ports are the key points of access facilitating the flow of goods central to our economy’s growth, our standard of living, and our ability to meet President Obama’s goal of doubling exports. Maintaining and improving port infrastructure is critical to our nation’s prosperity.

The port industry supported Congress in the establishment of the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act’s Transportation Investments Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) grants and subsequent National Infrastructure Investment grants. However, we were disappointed that only 8% of the grants were awarded for port infrastructure. We recommend that a program of this type be permanently authorized to help fund multi-modal infrastructure projects, including port terminal infrastructure, landside access to terminals and other supporting improvements. TIGER funds also should support cruise terminal infrastructure since these serve as critical passenger hubs. Ideally in the future a minimum of 25% of TIGER funds should be dedicated to port-related infrastructure requirements to ensure that the federal government supports the needs and vitality of our public ports. As it now stands, there is no other general federal funding source intended for expansion of port-related infrastructure.

3. Serving as the advocate for a world-class marine transportation system, including fully maintaining and improving federal navigation channels:

Port officials are very concerned about the sustainability of our marine transportation system, especially the need to maintain and improve federal navigation channels. Modern, navigable seaports are vital to our ability to trade internationally, giving U.S. trade-dependent companies able and cost-effective access to world markets through an efficient marine transportation system. We must ensure that our navigational channels are modern and well-maintained, and that we can plan and effectively carry out future improvements in order to respond to changes in the world fleet.

The American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA) has long been a vocal and strong advocate for federal funding for harbor deepening and for operations and maintenance of federal navigation channels. AAPA believes that it is extremely important to fully utilize the annual revenue derived from the Harbor Maintenance Tax collections. Since 1986, users of federal navigation channels have paid into a trust fund to pay for 100% of the maintenance cost, but only a part of those funds are appropriated each year, despite a growing need. Currently, there is a $5 billion surplus, with annual revenues of more than $1.4 billion. As a result of this federal under-investment, the nation is not maintaining our federal channels to an adequate depth or width. As an advocate for the marine transportation system, AAPA hopes the federal government can ensure the full use of the Harbor Maintenance Tax, similar to full-use provisions impacting the Highway and Aviation Trust Funds. It is critical that this marine trust fund get similar treatment.

4. Support improvements in the environmental review processes to improve efficiency and reduce project costs:

Efficient project delivery is impacted considerably by multiple, and at times conflicting, environmental reviews. Environmental review inefficiencies and redundancies should be addressed for both landside and waterside projects. Port infrastructure projects are reviewed by a variety of agencies. On the federal level, most port projects are permitted by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and some landside projects are handled by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as well as many other state and municipal environmental agencies. DOT should play an important role by helping to simplify the permitting process and eliminate the duplication that delays project approvals. The goal should be a single comprehensive environmental review process that includes all necessary actions required to issue all permits for a project.

AAPA greatly appreciates Secretary LaHood’s interest, leadership and commitment to help America’s ports address the most significant issues facing the freight transportation system. Organizing this important meeting demonstrated that the Secretary recognizes the importance of our ports, the economic benefits they generate and the critical role they play in our nation’s transportation system.
AAPA and its members stand ready to work with Secretary LaHood in helping to resolve the challenges the public port industry faces and to strengthen our nation’s competitiveness and overall quality of life.