President Signs Legislation Important to Recreational Boaters “Highway Bill for Boaters”

WASHINGTON, DC, June 11, 2014 – Acknowledging that recreational boating is a significant contributor to the nation’s economy as well as a growth engine for local communities, President Obama signed bipartisan legislation earlier this week that recognizes that the Federal government needs to do more to help small harbors, address longstanding dredging issues, and improve boating and navigation infrastructure. Boat Owners Association of The United States (BoatUS) applauds the passing of the 2013 Water Resources Reform and Development Act (WRRDA) and thanks the bill’s sponsors, Congressmen Bill Shuster (R-PA) and Nick Rahall, III (D-WV) and Senators Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and David Vitter (R-LA), and the President. BoatUS was an active advocate for WRRDA and will be working on its implementation.

“Maintenance dredging for small harbors and shallow-draft channels has been chronically underfunded,” said BoatUS Government Affairs Senior Program Coordinator David Kennedy. “In addition, funding for infrastructure such as jetties and some inland navigation locks has been significantly curtailed. The 2013 WRRDA Act directs the US Army Corps of Engineers to consider factors beyond total tonnage shipped in making dredging funding decisions, requires that not less than 10% of the value of operation and maintenance funds be directed to ‘Emerging Harbors’ or those that have less than one million tons of cargo shipped annually, and directs the Army Corps to report to Congress on the maintenance needs of the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway.”

Also, WRRDA for the first time treats the Great Lakes as one single comprehensive navigation system, potentially allowing funding for dredging of smaller harbors. In addition, the US Army Corps is directed to study potential new revenue sources for the Inland Waterways Trust Fund – and are required to consult recreational users, among other stakeholders.

Added Kennedy, “From small West Coast ports to Great Lakes harbors of refuge, inland locks, and the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway, boat owners depend on federal waterway infrastructure projects to keep them safe and provide authorized waterways deep enough for us to navigate. With 12 million registered boats in the US and over 80 million persons participating in boating, we also need to remember that boating generates $121 billion in US economic activity and over 950,000 jobs.”