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PENDING LEGISLATION THREATENS THE GULF INTRACOASTAL
WATERWAY IN TEXAS
FRIENDSWOOD, TEXAS, MARCH 23, 2001 - Legislation currently
before the Texas House and Senate will threaten maintenance of the
entire Texas portion of the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway and has potential
to close the southern section of the Waterway, stretching from Corpus
Christi to Brownsville, Texas. This most southern reach of the Waterway
has for years been restricted to "emergency-only" dredging
status, due to previous disputes over the placement of dredged material.
Further restrictions on dredging created by these bills would make
maintenance of the Waterway impossible, effectively forcing its
closure. This would result in a loss of jobs, significantly higher
transportation costs to be passed to the consumer, and environmental
harm from switching Waterway cargo to land-based transportation.
Dredging, on at least a maintenance level, is required
for the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway to remain safely navigable. The
southern section, with its emergency-only dredging restriction,
is able to meet only minimum navigation standards. More stringent
dredging restrictions would make meeting even the minimum navigation
standards impossible.
House Bill 2684 and Senate Bill 1356 include measures
that would make it very difficult for the Texas Department of Transportation
to secure land for placement of dredged material. Without areas
set aside for this purpose, dredging on any level - maintenance
or otherwise - cannot continue. The southern section of the Waterway
would, without proper maintenance, be forced to close.
Closure of the Waterway from Corpus Christi to Brownsville
would result in a documented increase in transportation costs. Mr.
Stephen Fuller and Mr. Luis Fellin, of Texas A&M University,
conducted a study on this section of the Waterway in 1998. The study
determined, for the years 1994-1996, the average cost per ton of
inbound freight to be $4.70, and outbound freight to be $7.67. It
went further to assert those costs would rise to $9.35 and $15.61
per ton, respectively, if this section of the Waterway were closed
to traffic. Given today's traffic volume and rates, closure of this
area would result in freight cost increases of $14 million in the
Rio Grande Valley each year. Many area jobs would be lost as a result.
The environment would suffer as well. Inland barge
transportation is more fuel-efficient that any other available mode
of bulk transportation. One gallon of fuel moves one ton of goods
514 miles by barge - but only 202 miles by rail or 54 miles by truck.
For every one barge on the Waterway, 60 trucks or 15 railcars are
eliminated. Emissions are reduced as well, with barges producing
only 1/3 the emissions of railcars, and 1/20 that of trucks. Any
shift of cargo from water- to land-based transportation would be
detrimental in this regard.
The Gulf Intracoastal Canal Association is one of
several industry organizations actively defending the Waterway against
this pending legislation. The GICA, founded in 1905, is the only
organization whose primary purpose is to protect, maintain and improve
the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway - the third busiest waterway in the
nation.
For further information, contact:
Raymond Butler, Executive Director
Gulf Intracoastal Waterway Association
Ph: 281-996-6915 / Fax: 281-992-4383
E-mail: info@gicaonline.com
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