Port Maintenance Aff – Classic BT
File completed by the following hard working students (that are awesome):
Christie B.
Daniel G.
Jeremy H.
Evan K.
Madeline K.
Brandon L.
Roshan M.
Rahi P.
Samuel S.
Gabriel W.
Some important FYI’s to understand background on this file.
List of ports
Los Angeles, CA
Long Beach, CA
Newark/New York, NY
Baltimore, MD
San Juan, PR
Wilmington, DE
Gupport, MS
Boston, MA
Savannah, GA*
Oakland, CA*
Charleston, SC*
Houston, TX*
Tacoma, WA*
Port Everglades, FL*
Philadelphia, PA*
Jacksonville, FL*
New Orleans, LA*
*Indicates ports that need to be dredged to accommodate Panamax ships.
List of acts that regulate dredging
(these acts can create bureaucratic obstacles to implementing plan):
Rivers & Harbor Act of 1899
National Environmental Policy Act
Clean Water Act
Ocean Dumping Act
Coastal Zone Management Act
Endangered Species Act
Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation & Management Act
Fish & Wildlife Coordination Act Page 6 of 20
1AC
Contention One: The Status Quo is Lacking
U.S. ports are not ready to handle super-sized tankers coming as a result of Panama canal expansion completion in 2014.
Abbott, 11 -- Editor, AAPA Seaports Magazine (Paul, "Special Feature on Port-Related Infrastructure", Summer, www.aapa-ports.org/Publications/SeaportsDetail.cfm?itemnumber=18152#seaportsarticle4//DG
Some countries clearly have taken the proverbial bull by the horns, perhaps most notably Panama, whose citizens resoundingly endorsed the multi-billion dollar program that is expanding the capacity of the Panama Canal – a project that is anticipated to reap several times its costs in benefits to the people of Panama. Somewhat paradoxically, the $5.25 billion Panama Canal expansion project, on schedule for completion in 2014, is a key factor putting further time pressure on infrastructure improvements, including channel deepening, at ports on U.S. East and Gulf coasts hoping to handle the super-sized containerships that will be able to transit the enhanced water passageway directly from Asia. Richard A.Wainio, port director and chief executive of the Tampa Port Authority, offered a note of caution at the fourth annual Shifting International Trade RoutesWorkshop, co-sponsored by the American Association of Port Authorities and U.S. Maritime Administration, hosted Feb. 1-2 by the Tampa Port Authority. “America’s ports are not ready,” said Mr. Wainio, who was born in Panama and worked 23 years in executive positions at the Panama Canal. “If we don’t modernize our facilities soon, we will not lead in the 21st century, we will follow. We’re 20 years behind the curve. Workshop speaker Dr.Walter Kemmsies, chief economist in the New York office of Moffatt & Nichol, put it simply: “We need a lot of investment in capacity and infrastructure.”
Advantage 1: Economic Competitiveness
Panama Canal expansion will disrupt American trade routes - Other nations are investing in port deepening to accommodate tankers, but the United States is not increasing its investment in its ports.
Bridges, 11 – Chairman of the Board of the American Association of Port Authorities and Executive Director of Virginia Port Authority (Jerry A., “Testimony of Jerry A. Bridges Chairman of the Board of the American Association of Port Authorities and Executive Director of Virginia Port Authority before the United States House of Representatives Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Water Resources and Environment Subcommittee Hearing: the Economic importance of Seaports: Is the United States Prepared for 21st Century Trade Realities?” , 10/26/11, 2011, http://republicans.transportation.house.gov/Media/file/TestimonyWater/2011-10-26%20Bridges.pdf)
Since the birth of our nation, U.S. seaports and waterways that connect them have served as a vital economic lifeline by bringing goods and services to people around the world and by delivering prosperity to our nation. U.S. seaports are responsible for moving more than 99 percent of our country’s overseas cargo. Today, international trade accounts for more than a quarter of Americas Gross Domestic Product.
America’s seaports support the employment of 13.3 million U.S. workers, and seaport- related jobs account for $649 billion in annual personal income. For every $1 billion in exports shipped through seaports, 15,000 U.S. jobs are created. Seaports facilitate trade and commerce, create jobs, help secure our borders, support our military, and serve as stewards of valuable coastal environmental resources.
Ports are dynamic, vibrant centers of trade and commerce, but what is most important to understand is that seaports rely on partnerships. Seaports invest more than $2.5 billion every year to maintain and improve their infrastructure. In recent years, however, this commitment has not been adequately matched by the federal government. Federal funding for dredging federal navigation channels has slowed and decreased, especially for new construction. Further, maintenance dredging is sorely underfunded, despite a more than $6 billion and growing surplus in the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund. Landside improvements have also been too low a priority, with little of the highway funds going to freight transportation projects. The only bright light has been the newly created TIGER grants, although not enough of this funding benefited ports. Virginia Port Authority received a TIGER grant for its heartland project.
As we look to the future, we do know that there are challenges and opportunities. As we recover from this economic downturn, we must make investments today to address the trade realities of the future. Here are some the challenges and we have to ask: are we ready?
· The Panama Canal expansion is due to be completed in 2014 and is expected to influence trade patterns. VPA and other ports have been making investments, but federal funding has been slow to match these investments. Ship sizes continue to get larger, requiring on-going modernization of ports and federal navigation channels, even for ports that will not require 50 feet of depth.
· Canada and Mexico are making investments which could result in losses of maritime jobs in the U.S. as cargo enters the U.S. through these countries. We have already seen this job loss on the West Coast.
· The U.S. seeks to double exports; however countries like Brazil and Chile, who we compete against the U.S. in terms of agricultural exports, are making investments that could make their exports more competitive.
· New trade agreements with Korea, Panama and Colombia have been approved, with other trade agreements under negotiations which should result in increased exports and imports through ports.
· In addition to these near-term challenges, we know that the U.S. population is forecast to grow by 100 million - a 30 percent increase - before the middle of the 2lst century. And many of the goods used by this population will flow through seaports.
So are we ready? While ports are planning for the future, the federal government has not kept pace with the industry or our international competitors. The federal government has a unique Constitutional responsibility to maintain and improve the infrastructure that enables the flow of commerce, and much of that infrastructure in and around seaports have been neglected for too long. Many of our land and water connections are insufficient and outdated, affecting the ports' ability to move cargo efficiently into and out of the U.S. This hurts U.S. business, hurts U.S. workers and hurts our national economy.
Port projects take decades to plan and build and we cannot wait. Federal investments in seaports are an essential and effective utilization of limited resources, paying dividends through increased trade and commerce, long-term job creation, secure borders, military support, environmental stewardship, and more than $200 billion in federal, state and local tax revenue. Earlier this month, the President’s Council on Jobs and Competitiveness made an urgent plea for improvements in the nation's transportation infrastructure, including landside and waterside access to seaports. We cannot wait.
So what must we do? First, attached to this Testimony, you will find AAPA’s letter to the Join Select Committee on Deficit Reduction, which outlines AAPA’s recommendations. The federal government must make funding for dredging a higher priority; Congress must pass a Surface Transportation bill that results in more funding for port, freight and landslide infrastructure, including the TIGER program; and Congress must not cut or eliminate the Port Security Grant Program or environmental programs that benefit ports.
Lack of U.S. adaptation will devastate trade and the economic competitiveness
Weakley, 8 – Realize America’s Maritime promise, Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund Fairness Coalition, testimony of James Weakley the president of the Lake Carriers’ Association (James, “Realize America’s Maritime Promise”, Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund Fairness Coalition, 4/30/08, http://www.ramphmtf.org/speeches_043008.html) // EK
Introduction/ Summary of Testimony
My name is Jim Weakley. I am President of Lake Carriers’ Association, an organization of U.S.-Flag vessel operators on the Great Lakes, and an officer of the Great Lakes Maritime Task Force, a coalition of ship operators, labor, shipyards, ports and others on the Great Lakes. Today, however, I am here testifying on behalf of a national coalition ("the Coalition") that is very concerned about the impacts on Federal ports and harbors that cannot be fully maintained with existing U.S. Army Corps of Engineers funding levels and advocates an initiative to seek full access to the annual revenues generated by the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund (HMTF) ad valorem tax for the purpose of operations and maintenance dredging in the United States. In 2007, the HMTF taxes collected from shippers for the purpose of funding dredging projects in our nation amounted to more than $1.4 billion, yet only $751 million of dredging and related maintenance costs was reimbursed from the fund, while ports and harbors were not able to be dredged to their authorized project dimensions.
The Importance of Dredging
Our ports and harbors are gateways to domestic and international trade, connecting the United States to the world. Because of the Nation’s port system, food grown by Iowa farmers reaches tables in Japan and Russia. Manufacturers in Texas can sell goods and services profitably to foreign countries and supply food for peace. Appalachian and Midwest coal moves through coastal ports to power plants domestically and around the world, providing the fuel to heat and light homes, businesses, and cities.
Whether products are arriving at our shores or departing for foreign sale, trade relies on an efficiently operating U.S. port system. Without exception, ports are critical to every State in the Nation. On average, each of our 50 States relies on 13 to 15 ports to handle its imports and exports, which add up to more than $5.5 billion worth of goods moving in and out of U.S. ports every day. Responsible for moving more than 99 percent of the country’s overseas cargo, U.S. ports and waterways handle more than 2.5 billion tons of domestic and international trade annually, and that volume is projected to double within the next 15 years - particularly after the expansion of the Panama Canal. International trade is responsible for 25 percent of the U.S. Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Along with meeting the demands of international trade, ports are busy with a sustained surge in cruise travel. Cruises depart from 43 ports in North America with a positive economic impact in all 50 States, since over 79 percent of cruise industry expenditures are made with U.S. businesses, including airlines, travel agents, food and beverage, and ship maintenance and refurbishing. On the Great Lakes, enormous quantities of raw materials that move by vessel are used to power major cities, make steel, and build roads.
Equally, or more important is the National Defense support that our Nation’s ports provide. The U.S. military depends on numerous ports that have agreements with the Federal Government to serve as bases of operation and to deploy troops and equipment during national emergencies. Today this role is more evident than ever and more important than ever, given the current climate of persistent threats around the globe coupled with the closure in recent years of U.S. military ports.
Port-related jobs are critical to augment our economy. Direct and indirect jobs generated by ports result in the employment of more than 8 million Americans who earned and spent $314.5 billion in 2006. Every $1 billion in exports alone creates an estimated 15,000 new jobs. In Texas alone one in every four jobs is linked to trade.
America’s deep-draft navigation system is at a crossroads, with a future that can be bright or bleak. Our waterways’ ability to support the Nation’s continuing growth in trade and in the defense of our Nation, hinges on much-needed Federal attention to unresolved funding needs that are derailing critical channel maintenance and deep-draft construction projects of the water highways to our ports. Because most ports do not have naturally deep harbors, they must be regularly dredged to allow ships to move safely through Federal navigation channels. Also, as modern vessels increase in size, navigation channel depths must increase accordingly, if we are to continue to be a player on the international marketplace. A recent U.S. Army Corps of Engineers study reports that almost 30 percent of the 95,550 vessel calls at U.S. ports are constrained due to inadequate channel depths. Ladies and gentlemen, these are the things that cause port directors nightmares.
Without a channel dredged to its authorized depth, nothing else comes into play. Attracting new customers, dealing with labor issues, environmental concerns, and the public - all go away - because without a properly-dredged channel, business goes away. Public ports are at a critical state in keeping their channels open for business. We are losing existing business and potential new business to ports outside of the United States ? and once lost, it is rarely regained.
Dredging can literally make or break our industry, and a lack of dredging is an issue throughout the United States. In fact, it is not an overstatement to say that in many parts of the United States, we face a dredging crisis. On the Great Lakes, as Chairman James L. Oberstar of this Committee and Chairman David R. Obey of the Appropriations Committee well know, decades of inadequate funding for dredging have left a backlog of 18 million cubic yards of sediment. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers estimates removing the backlog will cost more than $230 million on the Great Lakes alone. In some cases, ports on the Great Lakes have actually shutdown due to inadequate dredging. There are similar examples of dredging problems in ports and harbors on all coasts of our Nation.