Transcripts For CSPAN3 Hearing Focuses On Water Resources And The Economy 20170510

Lets see. Since we do have members here that want to be recognized, introduced, different ones, and i happen to be one of those, i think we might go ahead before Opening Statements and do that before we lose someone. So i would like to go ahead. We already know Lieutenant General todd simonite. This is your third time here . Yes, sir. Youre a regular here. I recognize at this time senator cardin to recognize pete ron, to introduce. Thank you very much. It is a pleasure to have secretary ron here before our committee. Secretary ron is the secretary of the of transportation in maryland. As i was telling the chairman, this is the third state that he has been secretary of transportation. Hes also directed the Missouri Department of transportation and new mexico state highway and transportation department. He just cant hold on to a job. [ laughter ] but were very proud of the work that he does in maryland. We have a pretty challenging organization in maryland where the secretary of transportation is responsible for all modes of transportation and coordinating all mode also of transportation. Mr. Rons done an outstanding job in directing that department. It is a very large budget. But he also serves as president of the American Association of state highway and transportation officials from 2007 to 2008. He has held other positions in national leadership, and were proud to have him before our committee. Very good. Recognize senator merkley for your introduction. Thank you, mr. Chairman. Ranking member for holding this subcommittee hearing to discuss the importance of investing in our ports and waterway infrastructure. Im pleased to introduce band and port commissioner rick goshay from my home state of oregon. Not only is he a commissioner but he has been a fisherman and small businessman for almost 50 years. Is involved in many aspects of the fishing community. He owns and operates a fishing vessel peso 2 and owns sacred sea tuna brand. He is president of Aquatic Resources inc. , a Consulting Group for Live Seafood Holding and shipping. He is chairman of fish cred, a statewide fishermans organization. Very few people know as intimately as rick the response of maintenance for our small ports, our navigation channels and our jetties. In fact, rick should probably be home preparing his boat for annual maintenance but he is here on behalf of the fishermen whose lives and livelihoods depending on this funding to make sure they get to safe harbor. He has crossed about every bar between San Francisco and canada and he is here to advocate for the Army Corps Budget to make sure our small ports stay the economic driver of our coastal communities. Thank you for being here, commissioner. Appreciate it. Thank you. Welcome, commissioner. Senator shell by, would you like to introduce your thank you. Thank you, chairman and Ranking Member cardin. It is great opportunity for me to introduce Jimmie Ryan Jimmy lions who is director and ceo of Alabama State Port Authority. Im glad he could join us here today. I have known jimmy and his family for many years and the work he has done at the Port Authority of mobile, the port of mobile has been not only vital to our state but also to the gulf coast region. Jimmy is, as i said, the director and the ceo of alabamas state Port Authority. The port of mobile is currently the 10th largest u. S. Sea port in the import and export of Domestic Trade by total volume. The ports largest commodities are coal, crude oil, steel and petroleum. In any given year between 52 and 67 million tons of cargo moves annually through the port, and that number continues to grow. Jimmy lions has continuously worked to meet the growing demand of a post panama panama canal market. In 2014 the Port Authority submitted a request to the corps of engineers to consider increasing the depth and width of the mobile Harbor Channel to its authorized dimensions. The corps subsequently began a general reevaluation report, grr, which examines potential cost and benefits associated with the deepening and widening of the port. The study is expected to conclude in 2019. Mr. Chairman, the port of mobile provides access to nearly 15,000 miles of inland waterway, serving the great lakes, ohio valley, upper mississippi and Tennessee Valley ports. Simply put, the port serves as an economic driver for much more than just mobile. The new administration has made Economic Growth a top priority to ensure that our industries and businesses, big and small, can continue to compete in the increasingly complicated global marketplace. To facilitate this growth it is important that Congress Make infrastructure legislative a priority. The corps plays, as we all know, an important part and role in modernizing our nations waterways. Corps projects provide more than 100 billion annually in net economic benefits. I believe this demonstrates job creation and Economic Growth associated with such investments. Im thankful for the committee today under your leadership, working to understand the challenges we are facing, and i look forward to hear the testimony of all of the witnesses. Thank you, mr. Chairman. Welcome. I wont say we saved the best for last, that would sound a little selfserving, but we have mr. Grant humphries. He is the town founder of carlton landing in oklahoma. Happy to have grant here. I have known his daddy kirk for longer than hes been alive. So it is a pleasure having you here in the capacity of what youre successfully doing in oklahoma. Hes a real estate developer, investor and homebuilder. About ten years ago grant began the process of founding and developing carlton landing at lake eufalala in oklahoma. Some of you may not be aware of the fact that oklahoma has more miles of fresh water shoreline than any of the 50 states. Did you know that, shelby . I did. Yeah. There we go. Well, in carlton landing he has embarked on an ambitious project which is showing Great Success which he will be sharing with us. In addition to founding and developing carlton landing he is also founder and principle of Traditional Craft homes, a Home Building Company Providing custom and specific production homes. In developing a project in lake eufala, he has become involved with a community of lake developers in the region and can speak to and others experiences with getting a project started. So i welcome you here today, grant. Todays first transportation infrastructure subcommittee hearing is on subject that is very important to our whole nation including my state of oklahoma. Our nations waltter resources provide our economy with a platform for movement of goods as well as trade with the world and bring jobs and many other benefits to the communities that surround them. The u. S. Corps of engineers projects projects generate over 109 billion annually in economic benefits and generate over 34 billion in revenue to the United States treasury. Unfortunately, like most of our instruct, our Water Resources are aging and in great need of repair and upgrades. Recognizing this need, the last two congresses have worked to authorize new projects and create reforms to provide for funding, federal funding and also private investing, something we couldnt do not too long ago. Todays hearing will explore the benefits of our Water Resources, provide to local and national economies, and examine and continue the continued needs that must be met so that the u. S. Can remain globally competitive and provide jobs and other local benefits here at home. In oklahoma we know these benefits firsthand, with ports along the Mcclellan Kerr arkansas Navigation System connecting oklahoma with the Mississippi River and with the rest of the world, and over 220 army corps of engineers managed lake, my state, our industry and our citizens know the impact of our many water resource projects through cheaper goods, cheaper electricity, jobs, flood protection and many recreational opportunities. The Mcclellan Kerr Arkansas River Navigation System is 445 miles long. It spans arkansas and the eastern part of oklahoma. Between the port of miscogie and the oklahoma port are home to over 70 companies and industries shipping 5. 7 million tons of cargo with values of 2. 5 2. 56 billion, employing more than 6,500 oklahomans and creating Overall Economic impact of more than 400 million to our state each year. The ability to move all kinds of goods without relying solely on one form of transportation keeps shipping costs low, Benefitting Companies that ship their wares regionally and globally and benefitting consumers who can stretch their dollars further. In addition to moving products and manufactured goods, other army corps projects help our communities by providing for flood Risk Management, water storage, hydro power and recreation. Every authorized use of a corps project allows the surrounding communities to realize a greater potential for Economic Development and improves the quality of life for those who depend on the infrastructure either directly or indirectly. The challenge before us today is to understand the full need for repairing and maintaining our current infrastructure and the need for new projects to ensure that the United States remains globally competitive and our communities continue to reap the benefits of the army corps infrastructure. With the topic of infrastructure in the news during the election cycle and within the new administration, the time is now to work towards solutions to meeting these needs. So i thank our witnesses for being here today. I want to make one comment about the attendance here. This is taking place at the same time that were having the Senate Armed Services committee which i have been the Ranking Member, so it is difficult to be two places at once. They will be going back and forth. Senator krardin. First, mr. Dhm, let chairman say what a pleasure it is to be sitting next to you in this committee as we convene our first public hearing of the subcommittee. We came to the United States congress on the same day in the house of representatives and weve been friends ever since. It is a real pleasure to serve with him on this subcommittee because ive going to let you in on a secret, the senator is one of the most progressive people i know in this country on infrastructure development. I always told him i would be glad to come to a state to campaign for him, but he told me he would prefer me to stay in maryland. But the two of us share a passion for the importance of Water Infrastructure, roads, bridges, Transportation Systems for the entire modernization of our infrastructure because both of us understand it means jobs. It means u. S. Competitiveness. It means america having the ability to compete globally. Thats what it means. We recognize the importance of the governmental part, the private sector part and putting this all together. I particularly want to acknowledge as my pleasure to serve as Ranking Member with the senator on the subcommittee. I think it is important that our first hearing deals with the role of Public Private sector in Water Resources because we need both. You heard the senator brag a little bit about his state on water projects. Well, i could spend the next two hours talking about the state of maryland, and im not going to do that but i am going to compliment again secretary ron for the leadership we have in our maryland port. I had a briefing on the maryland port last week. We are doing extremely well. January 2017 the port of baltimore hit another record month. We are the closest to the midwest than any other east coast port, which gives maryland an advantage. We rank ninth overall in value of cargo and baltimore is wellknown for the cars that come in and out of that port, as the largest in the region, and we are significantly increasing our capacity on container. We handle a great deal. One of the facts i just have to put this in the record and brag, the journal of commerce rank port of baltimore as number one in the nation with container berth for three years in a row. Were pretty efficient and were proud of our efficiency in the port of baltimore. Under our state leadership we moved quickly, recognizing that the expansion of the panama canal would allow larger vessels to be able to be handled. We had to add the facilities in baltimore to be able to deal with that, and baltimore is only one of four eastern ports with a 50foot channel and a 50foot container berth allowing to accommodate some of the largest container ships in the world. On july 19th, 2016, the Cargo Carrier from taiwan was the first supersize container ship to reach baltimore through the panama canal. So were ready. Were ready. It is critically important to our economy. I got some members and this is going to be typical of just about every port in our country, but the business from the port generates 13,000 plus jobs, direct jobs with more than 127 jobs in maryland linked to the port activity. This is very important to our economy. 3 billion in wages and salaries, contributing more than 310 million into state and local tax revenues. So this is important business for a senator from maryland, it is important business for a senator from every one of our states, and thats why were particularly pleased to have this hearing. I do want to just point out that we cant do this just by one of the stakeholders alone. We appreciate the role the federal government plays. It is very important, the direct help of the Water Resources, and were going to talk today generally talk a little bit about the next important leg in maryland, which is midday on the dredging materials, and reclaiming of land. My predecessor senator was directly responsible for Popular Island which was a Great Success and model for the nation on allowing reclaiming of land as well as location for dredge material. We now need to move on to midday, which has already been studied and i think were on track but we will talk about it. We also need the roads, the bridges, we also need the rail and we also need the private sector. This hearing is an attempt to try to understand we need all of the above, and i hope that as a result of this hearing and further hearings that we have that we will be able to get the investments by the public and private sector so america can indeed be competitive in our port and Water Activities so we can get the job growth that the people of this country need. Thank you, senator cardin. Let me just say that weve worked so well together for so many years and that we work on things that actually become productive. I can remember confession is good for the soul, and if you will pardon me for bragging a little bit. When we had been having our meeting, it was the chairman on the republican side, it happened every tuesday. We had every tuesday at 12 15. When it comes my turn i always say now from the committee that actually does things, because we did. I would say to my friend, senator cardin, that we had the fast pass, we did the water act, we had the chemical act. Those are three of the four biggest projects or bills that were actually passed. So were used to accomplishing things. Now, what were going to do because we have five witnesses who have many such at senator capto and i have other committees at the same time, were going to try to get you to adhere to if you would the fiveminute maximum on your comments, and of course your entire statement will be made a part of the record. Well start with general simenite. Chairman, Ranking Member, im Lieutenant General todd seminte, and the 54th chief of engineers. Im pleased to be here to discuss the role of United States army corps of engineers and the water resource investments across the nation. The corps played a significant role in development of the nation Water Resources, and currently manages an Extensive National water resource infrastructure portfolio including maintenance of 13,000 miles of coastal navigation channels, 12,000 miles of inland waterways, 715 dams, 241 locks, 14,000 miles of levies and hydro power plants at 75 locations. This projects help provide Risk Reduction from flooding in our River Valleys and along our coast. Facilitate the movement of approximately 2 billion tons of waterborn commerce and provide up to 24 of the nations hydro power. There are about 250 million recreational visits a year to corps lands and reservoirs, making the corps one of the top federal recreation providers. Corps water resource investments bring significant value to the nation. For example, the United States Maritime Transportation industry supports approximately 2 trillion in commerce with over 2 billion tons of commerce moving through harbors, channels and waterways constructed and maintained by the corps. Approximately 98 of the United States overseas trade by weight and 99 by volume enters or leaves the United States through a u. S. Coastal port. The inland waterway supports this commerce by facilitating export of approximately 60 of u. S. Grain, 22 of coal and 22 of petroleum products. Corriss can reduction management projects and activities provide resilient reduction infrastructure and prepare individuals an communities for potential floods. The corps is responsible for the construction and operation of 383 major dams and reservoir projects that regulates floodwaters in the nations major rivers and tributaries and is constructed over 14,700 miles of levies in partnership with local nonfederal partners. Additionally, the corps has constructed over 90 major coastal shoreline protection projects along 240 miles of the nations coastline that provide storm damage reduction benefits to vulnerable coastal communities. Over the past ten years it is estimated on average the corps Risk Management rezuks projects have prevented over 65 billion worth of flood damages to urban and Rural Communities across the nation. The corps maintains recreation facilities at over 400 of its multipurpose projects. The corps has a long history of developing partnerships within existing recreation authorities. It leases about half of the 5,000 recreation sites at these multipurpose projects to the public and private entities, including private sector commercial operates, states and local governments. Private recreation sites include approximately 562 privatelyowned marinas, resorts, campgrounds, boat ramps, fuel docks, Convenience Stores and other public use areas. The corps has constructed much of this infrastructure in the first half of the 20th century and some of it is experiencing various stages of degradation and disrepair. In fact, approximately half of the corps lock and dam facilities are more than 50 years old and bring operations and maintenance challenges commensurate with their age. The corps dedicates a significant amount of its resources to maintain the key features of these locks and dams, hydropower facilities and other Water Resources and infrastructure. Per in requirement, a significant portion of the Civil Works Program is devoted to maintaining these systems so they can continue to provide economic and environmental benefits to the nation and to address significant risk to safety. To support the current and future requirements of the nations water resource infrastructure the corps is exploring alternative financing and Funding Options including Public Private partnerships, also referred to as p3s, through an assessment of private policy requirements and application of project experience, the corps is seeking to demonstrate how a collaboration between a public and private sectors may improve the corpss able to deliver the nations infrastructure needs. The corps recognizes significant investments are required to sustain the performance of our Water Infrastructure portfolio to an acceptable level of risk, and we greatly appreciate the support from the congress in addressing these needs. As required in order 2014, the corps provided a report to congress in spring 2016 capturing Lessons Learned from the exploration of p 3 concepts to date. As part of the journey, the corps was able to start the flood management progress in north dakota. We acknowledge the congressional direction in the recent 2017 fiscal appropriation language regarding the need for a more robust p 3 policy and we look forward to working with congress and the administration to develop this policy guidance. Investment also by the Civil Works Program reduce the risk of Flood Impacts in the communities throughout the nation, facilitate commercial navigation, restore and protect significant eco systems, generate lowcost renewable hydropower and support american jobs. Continued investment in Infrastructure Projects is an investment in the nations economy, security and employment and quality of life now and in the future. Thank you for the chance to testify about the corpss role in sustaining the Water Infrastructure and Economic Opportunities associated with our Civil Works Program. I am happy to answer any questions you may have. Very good. Thank you, general. Director lions. Thank you, mr. Chairman. Ranking member cardin and distinguished members of the subcommittee. My organization maryland state docks, state Port Authority is the nonfederal sponsor of the port of mobile as senator shelby mentioned is 10th largest sea port by trade. The committee understands 80 of consumption occurs outside our borders and ships carrying commerce are getting larger than our sea ports can handle. At mobile, wide body tankers are already servicing our terminals, albeit inefficiently. Despite our constraints weve attracted manufacturing and retail distribution investments including walmarts newly announced 2. 6 million square Foot International Distribution Center which is under construction now. But growth is unsustainable at our current channel depth and width. My organization has invested over 850 million in facilities and federal channel infrastructure. Two of our investments in the private Petroleum Terminals recently reported double digit cargo growth. Mobiles public and private terminals generate about 23. 5 billion in economic value and employ over 154,000 people. On the larger scale, u. S. Sea ports generate 4. 6 trillion in economic value. Will vest 154. 8 billion and create 1. 6 million jobs by 2020 and 82 of that investment will occur in u. S. Gulf. Ports are doing their part to grow the economy and we provide significant return on federal investment. Now the time has come for both the administration and congress to give equal weight to sea ports when grappling with infrastructure investments. Underinvestment and underfunding the corps Civil Works Program results in inefficient, poorly maintained harbors, thereby increasing shipper costs, reducing our global competitiveness, aggravating the maintenance dredging backlog and adversely impacting our tax base and job market. We must endeavor to revise law and reform procedures to better plan, fund, implement and maintain waterway infrastructure necessary for u. S. Commerce. I respectfully offer a few suggestions to achieve these goals. One, continue by annual review of the Water Resource Development act to further timely reforms. Also, the corps should submit annually to congress a comprehensive report on its Civil Works Program, provide line item insight into Program Progression and cost. Two, the corps should implement a strategic fiveyear budget cycle. Today the corps works on twoyear budgets that fail to capture any projects full capital need through implementation. For example, the corpss budget only addresses two of the threeplus years of an authorized study and provides no guarantees for project engineering and design or construction phase funding. Once authorized projects are in the pipeline, they should be budgeted and secured funds through completion. Three, provide full allocation of the Harbor Maintenance trust fund, available funds to guarantee year in, year out maintenance obligations. Fiveyear budgeting cycles could provide congress with specifics on longrange maintenance funding obligations while providing new insights into newly authorized project maintenance. Four, streamline the 333 rule waiver process. Complex studies require necessary science to comply with nepa and much of that science takes a year or more to complete. Corps guidance requires waivers be held until its tentatively selected plan is completed, adding up to a year to the project. Streamline the process and delegate the waiver Decision Authority to the division commander. Five, reduce or eliminate the external peer reviews. The corps has qualified professionals capable of sound engineering and program delivery. Many external experts do not understand corps processes or mandates. The corps focuses on education educating consulting on the why rather than sound engineering, further delaying implementation. We agree we must modernize our ports and it will cost billions of dollars. As deepened and widened channels come online there will be additional demand on the Harbor Maintenance trust fund, which needs significant gains through Risk Management and performance based budgeting we but we need to take a longer view towards budgeting and identifying Program Savings by reducing bureaucracy. The Alabama State Port Authority thanks the committee between recognizing the nexus between Water Resources and economic prosperity. I appreciate this opportunity and happy to answer questions. Thank you, director lions. Mr. Humphries. Chairman, Ranking Member, distinguished members of the committee, it is a pleasure to be here today. As a Third Generation Real Estate Investor and developer from oklahoma, we have a pleasure of creating places that Foster Community and allow folks to live healthy and rewarding lives. Our family has had a long history on the lake. We have been there over 45 years now. Ten years ago we began a journey of creating a new town on the shores of the lake in southeast oklahoma. The site we chose was 1900 acre site on the same cove where i learned to water ski as a boy. The land is connected to 10 miles of shoreline thats either owned or control by the corps of engineers. It is our desire that carlton landing would be a model for good development, the kind that conserves natural assets, provides a boost to Rural Communities and provides place for people to live, work and play. Before i share a story i want to share a few words about the corps staff. We worked closely with the corps staff since 2007 and bit a good rapport. We fuound them accessible and committed. I have Great Respect for their authority. In 2008 we put together a master plant for carlton landing that including 3,000 homes, shops, restaurants, schools, churches, parks and trails. The vision was to have a complete lake front community. Since the corps control access to the lake we understand our ability to implement the vision would be dependent on our ability to work with the corps. We requested a minor zoning change to allow us to have a four foot wide gravel trail. It was suggested we ptner with a Conservation Group so we partnered with the nature conservancy. It was suggested we might have a smoother track to approval if we were a public entity. We went through the process of taking our Master Plan Community and incorporating into a public municipality. Over a threeyear time frame through all of these steps the corpss response to our rezoning request was professional. It was courteous but it was always the answer no. Title 36 specifically empowers the district commander to use discretion in making minor changes to a Shoreline Management plan. We discovered that due to the fact that the eufala had not been updated since 1977, the previous district commander at the Tulsa District Office had made promises to federal environmental agencies that no changes would be made until a new eis was completed. Eiss take funding and congress deferred that funding for several sessions. So we were informed private money could not be accepted. So the lake was in a zoning grid lock and the local corps staffs hands were tied. By the summer of 2010 it appeared our vision for carlton landing was dead in the water. In march of 2011 the senator met with the tulsa district manneder and within days we saw a new tone. Forward motion was realized and the corps staff was now on a new mission to update the eis. By april of 13 the eis was completed, a new Shoreline Management plan was created and the rezoning action we needed was complete. By 2015 the town of carlton landing completed a longterm lease of 420 acres of federal lands from the corps and today were working on dozens of project still with the corps office, trying to bring that vision to fruition. Ultimately it took us eight years to obtain Corps Commission to install a Community Boat dock with a gang way attached to our own land. Eight years. Somehow despite the regulatory road block we were able to start and create a lake town even though we didnt have lake access. While it is true we had success with the corps, the journey to get here has been anything but easy. Unfortunately our success came only after direct top down political pressure from highest levels in washington. Without a forceful hand of political involvement to unfreeze the process and create a door of opportunity, i believe that our efforts would continue to bear no fruit. In our case the staff was well intend but their hands were tied by past commitments and regulatory grid lock. It is unclear how many corps projects are effect by the same structural barriers established over time. But issues such as a petrified eis or a frozen Shoreline Management plan are a deal killer for a private developer. This should not be the case because it limits success only to those with political connections, deep pockets and the ability to wait through unrealisting timelines. Every private sector developer project is absolutely dependent upon obtaining assurances of entitlements within a reasonable time frame. In preparation for todays hearing i have received good feedback from several developers from across the country. Some had a positive experience with the corps, but several had a very troubling experience. Some had experiences so difficult that they had to walk away from the deal, resulting in significant financial loss. I think thats more the norm than the exception. I appreciate generals no nonsense approach to flishing his mission. I believe he is the kind of leader the corps needs to turn the ship around and create a culture of action that brings about the desired out comes. I also appreciate the legislative work of the Water Resources development act. It gives clear direction and aims at the right targets. In closing, theres a strong market for careful, smart, Sustainable Development on our nations lakes, rivers and waterways. The corpss in a position to either encourage or to behinder Economic Growth at the local level. If were serious about attracting private investment in and around our Natural Resources in a way that protects our natural assets while maximizing their value, i believe it is necessary to set the table for developers and create a Better Process to clearly define the corps regulatory landscape in a way that works for the private sector. Thank you. Thank you, mr. Hum frills. Secretary ron. Good afternoon, mr. Chairman, Ranking Member cardin, members of the committee. Thank you for inviting me to discuss the roles of the public and private sectors for our ports. Ports are the key links in u. S. Access to Global Transportation networks and federal navigation channels provide that access to these facilities. I thank the committee for continuing to support Maritime Infrastructure and commerce, especially with respect to essential dredging projects that keep our shipping channels, our maritime highways, safe and open for business. This is a high priority for the hogan administration. The Helen Bentley port of baltimore is an economic engine, not just for maryland and the region but for our nation, as senator cardin mentioned during his opening remarks. It generates approximately 13,650 jobs and about 128,000 total jobs linked to port activities. It is note worthy that the average income for the port direct job is 16 higher than the average maryland salary. Our Public Private Partnership Agreements with Ports America Chesapeake and the availability of a 50foot deep container berth position the port of baltimore to attract cargo growth associated with last years panama canal expansion. Our tonnage increased 9. 3 in first eight months since the canal open. The ports coal business also inkreelsed significantly over the same period as these ships need deep water, too. The u. S. Army corps of engineers has been very responsive to our port, to our shippers, carriers and congressional concerns about the planning process for channel improvements and has initiated reforms that were included in the order of 2014. Because of these planning reforms, 2014 and 2016 authorized nine major port projects that provide for channel improvement also to accommodate the new generation of larger and much more economically Efficient Ships and capitalize on the opening of the improved panama canal. This inventory of new projects along with several ongoing efforts that predate water 14 produced an inventory of 11 plo jekts with a total cost in excess of 4 billion and a federal cost in excess of 2 1 2 billion dollars. Out of the 11 projects, to date only two received federal funding and a third project was completed by a port that simply could not wait for federal funding. The average appropriation over the last eight years for coastal navigation construction has been around 170 million per year. While this represents an increase over the administrations budget requests for those years, it still requires about 15 years to clear the existing inventory. In the highly competitive world economy, the low level of federal funding to construct navigation channel improvements is Holding America back and it is simply unacceptable. It is not only navigation projects that are at issue. Like most ports, it is critical that the port deliver sufficient longterm dredge material placement capacity to support maintenance of its 50foot deep channel in terms of both depth and width to capitalize on anticipated growth and maintain our existing business. The mid Chesapeake Bay island project that was authorized in werta 14 will use dredge material from the ports navigation channels to restore the james and Barren Islands and recreate a critical environmental resource in the middle Chesapeake Bay. Like all werta 2014 projects, this project faces deauthorization in calendar year 2021 if it does not receive federal funds for construction by that time. The mid bay project is critical because it will provide 45 plus years of dredge material placement capacity. Federal funding is essential to enable opening of the mild bay project by the time it is needed and to avoid deauthorization. I thank the chairman and Ranking Member for their support of the mid bay project in werta 2014 and respectfully request the subcommittee to support language in the next werta to ensure continued authorization of the project. Additionally, federal funding for core judging has been constrained over the last several years and continued constraints will negatively impact the port. With larger shims calling today, it is imperative baltimores harbor and dhanls be maintained at fully authorized depths and wildth on year around bases to facilitate efficient maritime commerce. Maryland remains commit to working with the private sector to deliver safe and Cost Effective infrastructure in maryland that contributes to 26 of u. S. Gdp and 23 million american jobs attributable to all ports. Thank you again for the opportunity to testify and i will be happy to answer any questions. Thank you, secretary ron. Commissioner goshay. Thank you, chairman, Ranking Member cardi n and the rest of the members. I appreciate the opportunity to speak here for small ports in the Pacific Northwest, oregon, across the country. I come from a little town called band in oregon, a population of a little over 3,000. I have been a commercial fisherman most of any life. Now i fish primarily for albacore tuna. My brother and i when we get ready to go fishing, we supply our boat with enough provisions to be at sea for about two weeks at a time, and we spend most of that time between 100 and 200 miles offshore. Because our boats are relatively small and relatively slow, when weather is forecasted thats beyond our means to deal with we have to go into whatever port is closest to us. When the forecast is even worse, we have to sometimes just go down wind and take whatever port is on that trajectory. This is where the term safe harbor comes from, because when weather is bad any harbor is better than being at sea. So from a fishermans perspective, every port, whether theyre large or small, is important. We have preferences though. The main reason that we have preferences is because of bars. I understand that some people here may not be familiar with the term crossing a bar, but in the Pacific Northwest understanding that term can be a matter of life or death. The bar is a term thats used for where a hump is formed in the entrance to the harbor from the downstream sediment that drops when it comes up against the swells and tides of the ocean. During ebb tides the river water speeds up and narrows at that hump and creates pressure against the incoming swells. Those swells build and steepen and tip over and become breakers. Thats where the term a breaking bar comes from. Now, i didnt understand until i start coming back here and talking with people here that breaking bars are pretty much unique condition relative to the rest of the coast, and in the Pacific Northwest every bar is a breaking bar at one time or another. I couldnt really understand until i figured that out, that why all of these small ports budgets were zeroed out year after year, budget after budget, administration after administration, and now i know. So i want to help you understand how important bar dredging is in the Pacific Northwest. Now, there are a couple of ways to minimize the threat of a breaking bar. One is to build jetties that steer the current of the river a few degrees off the dominant swell, and thats been done many, many decades ago all over the Pacific Northwest, but because of lack of funding most of those jetties are in disrepair and are becoming more and more dangerous and less and less effective. Another way to minimize the deadliness of breaking bars is to dredge that hump that i referred to. Every year sediment coming downstream comes up against the swell, as where the river bro broadens out, drops that sediment caused by the heavy rains that are typical and characterize the Pacific Northwest coast. Now, theres one thing that both of these methods have in common and that is funding. In the portland district of the army corps of engineers does a great job dredging our navigation channels and taking care of things given their resources. But when insufficient funding is provided, as is often the case for small ports, the bar shallow breaks and lives are lost. The reason lives are lost is because when the breakers are happening, a boat transiting that bar, that breaking bar comes up against a freak wave or a sneaker wave, and it is bigger and faster than the rest of the waves, and the boat basically turns into a surfboard, loses control and literally rolls over. Many deaths happen because of this. In oregon there are 15 communities with small ports, and every one of those communities the port is the equivalent of an anchor business. Everybody sitting at this table understands that. In the port of bannon in twourpt 2014 we commissioned a study that found that 62 million of economic benefit is generated annually as a result of our access to sea thats maintained by the port dredging. Operation and maintenance of our nations infrastructure is a federal responsibility, however, chronic under funding for ports is causing our Water Infrastructure to deteriorate, impacting safety. Ive been encourage willed by recent efforts in congress to ensure all of the monies paid into the Harbor Maintenance trust fund every year is used to fund the corps of engineers. However, we from small ports are concerned it will not happen quickly enough. Many of our nations small ports may have silt in by the time the money is made available. Again, i appreciate the opportunity to talk with you. I know it might be hard to understand, but if everything we have is wrapped up in your boat and your boat feeds your family, you go fishing. Even when everything is optimal, some of us dont make it home. I am just here to ask you to give us the best chance you can that we can make it in and home to our families. Thank you, commissioner goshay. That was very informational. What were going to do is have a fiveminute sessions here of asking questions, and then if theres a desire for more, for a second round we can do that. Let me start off, general, you have been before this committee several times. We have been listening to the president and weve been listening to him during his not just the administration now but when he was campaigning, talking about a very ambitious infrastructure program, and i would like to ask, have you had conversations either with the president or with members of the administration concerning any of the details of what the plans are from his perspective . Yes, sir. I think, first of all, the most important thing of those discussions has been a theme that all of you have already said, and that is that Many Americans think of infrastructure as roads, air fields, bridges. We need to continue to expand that dialogue to talk about coastal ports and inland waterways. So there is we have had several questions from the administration to my staff asking specifically what are some things that are some significant challenges that youre faced with on budgetary issues and where could there be some of those projects that would be wellserved by additional infrastructure funding. I think the other thing though is the administration is very interested in potential for private public partnerships. So weve asked weve been asked a lot of questions about what would be some of the studies or cases of how you could see where a Public Private partnership could take some of that burden off of the taxpayers. I think the third area that we have asked questions, is they said are there some things when it comes to processes or procedures where we can unencumber you and allow you to continue to do your job perhaps in a manner that might be a little bit more efficient and effective. So working through the assistant secretary of the army for civil works we have provided answers to some of those questions. We dont know any outputs right now. We have mainly been in a provide mode and we dont know exactly where thats going to end up. Yeah, i think it is important that the public knows these conversations where