GRAIN EXPORTS Going to the next chart, sir, with the blue bars on it shows the lower Mississippi River grain exports in millions of short tons for the period of 1968 to 1983. As you can see, sir, that has been rapidly growing to a high in 1982 of some 67.2 million tons with a value of around $10 billion. Sir, turning to the next graph with the blue bars on it you will see the lower Mississippi River grain exports as a percentage of the U.S. total grain export for 1968 to 1983. You will see that has grown and has now reached about 50 percent of the Nation's total grain exports throughout the lower Mississippi River. COAL EXPORTS If you go to the next chart, sir, you will see one entitled Lower Mississippi River bituminous coal exports and you see that this grew rapidly during the peak coal boom period in 1981 to a little over 14 million tons and it is now down in the most recent year to just a little over 7 million tons, but we do have a good growth projected in the next 5 years for coal exports out of the lower river. I am going to skip the next chart on limitations on draft on vessels, because Mr. Giallanza will speak on that, and then the next one on the same subject in a different category and skip to a chart on Port of New Orleans vessel passages on the Mississippi River gulf outlet for the calendar years 1966 to 1983. The purpose of this chart, Senator, is to demonstrate that we have had rapidly increased use of this channel since it was opened back in the sixties and now we have around 1,500 vessel passages a year through that channel. Senator STENNIS. Which chart are you on now, please? Mr. HAAR. I am on the one Mississippi River gulf outlet, Port of New Orleans vessel passages. Senator STENNIS. While we are interrupted, Senator Johnston of Louisiana, a member of this subcommittee, will be here shortly; he is unavoidably detained on another important matter and he will be here shortly. You proceed. MISSISSIPPI RIVER, GULF OUTLET Mr. HAAR. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Sir, the next chart is a pie circle graph showing the principal commodities that move on the Mississippi River gulf outlet and below that shows the total tonnage of a little over 5.5 million tons a year and then to the left of that chart shows the economic impact of the tonnage movement on the Mississippi River gulf outlet, direct impact on the community of about $400 million a year. Sir, the last chart I am going to leave to Mr. Giallanza to discuss during his testimony. FUNDING REQUEST In summation, I would like to rapidly go over the amounts that we are requesting on the summary sheet of the front of my testimony and on that we would like to recommend the full capability of $10 million for dredging on the Mississippi River gulf outlet. We have had a number of problems on that channel in recent years which Mr. Giallanza and Captain Meyers will get into later. The second item on the Mississippi River-Baton Rouge to the gulf, the maintenance dredging and improvement in the past of Southwest Pass, we would like to recommend a total of $45 million under O&M, general for this project and this is an additional amount of $13.4 million over the administration's fiscal year 1985 budget needed for improvement of training work in Southwest Pass. On the third item on the Mississippi River-Baton Rouge to Gulf of Mexico, bank nourishment, we are recommending that the full Corps of Engineers' capability of $2 million for construction, general be appropriated for this. On the fourth project for the Mississippi River-gulf outlet, new ship lock, that has been going on for a number of years we do recommend that the $2 million in funding which includes $600,000 for E&D of the new ship lock be provided an additional $1.4 million which is for foreshore protection of the Chalmette Loop Levee of the Lake Pontchar train hurricane protection project be provided. On the fifth item, sir, the Mississippi River-ship channel from the gulf to Baton Rouge, this is a deepening of the lower river project and we recommend that Congress appropriate $1 million under general investigations which is the Corps' capability to carry this project forward. On the final item, sir, which normally is an item that we come in with the Coast Guard appropriation, we recommend that anything the committee can do to use its good offices to influence additional moneys to navigational aids on the gulf outlet-and I think both Mr. Giallanza and Captain Meyers will give you a rationale on that-those moneys be provided so we can provide for increased navigation safety on that channel. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I would like to, if I could, call on Mr. Giallanza now. Senator STENNIS. Yes. Well, I want to thank you. You are a former member of the Army Engineers. Mr. HAAR. Yes, sir. I am a retired colonel and used to be the District Engineer in the Corps. Senator STENNIS. You are highly responsible and I figure you know what you are talking about. Everybody that testifies in Washington don't always know what they are talking about. Mr. HAAR. Thank you, sir. Senator STENNIS. All right. I just said yesterday in a little talk in a private meeting that the U.S. Army Engineers-talking about the Tennessee-Tombigbee project-l said that perhaps they are the only group in the world that can see and then build, the U.S. Army Engineers, and I believe that. Mr. HAAR. We have supported that in the Port of New Orleans, that project. We supported that even though some of the people in our State were not of the some mind. We have always supported that and we think that is a good project that is good for the Nation. Senator STENNIS. We thank you for that, too, very much. [The statement follows:] STATEMENT OF HERBERT R. HAAR, JR., ASSISTANT EXECUTIVE PORT DIRECTOR, PORT OF NEW ORLEANS Summary of testimony of the Board of Commissioners of the Port of New Orleans by Herbert R. Haar, Jr., Assistant Executive Port Director, before the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development on Wednesday, April 4, 1984, in reference to the following projects: 1. MISSISSIPPI RIVER-GULF OUTLET (MR-GO), LA. MAINTENANCE DREDGING For FY 85, we strongly recommend $10 million be appropriated by Congress under O&M, Gen. This project is presently in a very deficient maintenance state and it is essential that full project dimensions be attained. 2. MISSISSIPPI RIVER - BATON ROUGE TO THE GULF, MAINTENANCE DREDGING, STABILIZATION We recommend Congress appropriate $45 million under O&M, Gen. The additional funding of $13.4 million over the Administration's FY 85 Budget is for minimum essential necessary dredging and for dike and jetty repairs in Southwest Pass. 3. MISSISSIPPI RIVER - BATON ROUGE TO GULF OF MEXICO, LA., BANK NOURISHMENT Continued improvement of structures comprising the training works of Southwest Pass could well decrease annual maintenance costs. We recommend that the full Corps of Engineers' capability of $2,000,000 Construction, General, be appropriated by Congress to continue this design effort on bank nourishment, pile dikes and bulkheads. 4. MISSISSIPPI RIVER-GULF OUTLET, LA., NEW SHIP LOCK In the budget under Construction, Gen., MR-GO, there is proposed $2,000,000 of which $600,000 is dedicated for E&D of the New Ship Lock and $1.4 million is for foreshore protection of the Chalmette Loop Levee of the Lake Pontchartrain Hurricane Protection Project. We indorse these proposed expenditures but also urge that the additional $1.6 million capability be appropriated for initiating and completing the Citrus Back Levee Foreshore Protection. 5. MISSISSIPPI RIVER-SHIP CHANNEL, GULF TO BATON ROUGE, LA. We recommend that this deepening project be expedited in order to hasten receipt of enormous benefits that will materialize. We recommend that Congress appropriate $1.0 million under General Investigations, an amount equal to the $1.0 million Corps' capability. 6. ADDITIONAL NAVIGATION AIDS For improved operating efficiency and safety, we request an increased level of funding to the Coast Guard for navigations aids for the MRGO. Mr. Chairman: I am Herbert R. Haar, Jr., Assistant Executive Port Director of the Port of New Orleans. I am here to testify on behalf of the Board of Commissioners of the Port of New Orleans, a unit of local government of the State of Louisiana, on projects of vital interest to the development of Louisiana and neighboring Gulf States, the Mid-America States, and the Nation as a whole. We in the Port industry share the goals of the Administration and this Congress in reducing budget deficits and ultimately in achieving a balanced budget. We are hopeful that our continuing dialogue and cooperation will ultimately contribute to achieving, on a national basis, those lofty but certainly attainable goals. As we look into the future, we are certain that the port industry will continue to play a dominate role in the economic livelihood of our nation. During the period since World War II the non-federal port interests have invested more than $45 billion in new and improved cargo-handling facilities. This has certainly paid off. In 1981, the total throughput of the U.S. deep draft ocean port system was 1.941 billion short tons of cargo in foreign and coastwise commerce. Of that tonnage, 887 million tons represented cargo moving in U.S. foreign commerce, valued at $318 billion, generating approximately $6 billion in U.S. custom revenues. Imagine the value of the federal investment of a proposed budget, now somewhere in the range of 450 million operations, maintenance and construction dollars allocated to deep draft navigation projects sharing a return of 6 billion dollars! Again, I must point out that the government has a very direct interest in assuring the continuous movement of international trade through U.S. ports. We cannot afford to have our channels blocked or restricted in drafts through siltation. Such conditions impact severely on the federal, local, state and private investment. Likevise we must assure ourselves that the necessary infrastructure is in place, efficiently operating and even expanding in order to retain our market share of the world trade. Our Louisiana deep-draft ports have played an ever-increasing role in the growth of the United States' share of the international markets. In fact, growth of commerce on the Mississippi River and tributaries system has been such that tonnages double every ten to twelve years. Today, inland waterway traffic on the main channels and all tributaries of the Mississippi, Illinois, Missouri, and Ohio Rivers is approximately 363 million tons annually. This magnificent inland waterway system services the foreign trade as well as domestic commerce of the MidAmerica Hinterland, which accounts for 51% of the population; 49% of the purchasing power; 53% of the value added manufacturing; and 50% of the employment of the United States. In 1981, Louisiana's deepdraft ports transshipped 190.7 million short tons worth $44.1 billion. Translating that impact to jobs throughout the Mid-America States means that approximately 207,000 jobs were related to foreign, oceangoing trade. The four ports of Louisiana located in the regional port complex stretching from Baton Rouge to the Gulf transshipped approximately 183 million short tons, equating to approximately 195,000 jobs of those 207,000 jobs. Again, foreign trade means jobs--and the Louisiana ports are handling 21.5 percent of the nation's foreign waterborne trade. In the year 1971, that percentage share was only 9.6 percent. Recently released statistics on grain and coal exports from the lover Mississippi River ports highlight the facts that: A) The 64.5 million tons of grain exported from these B) The 7.7 million tons of bituminous coal exported In brief, Louisiana ports are a major industry within the State, and the expenses incurred in the transshipment of foreign-bound or foreign-originated cargo cause major economic impacts well beyond the state into the great Mid-America Hinterland. Continued growth and development of this four-port complex is essential to the national economy. We strongly feel, however, that this growth is being inhibited by the lack of adequate deep-water channels--55-foot depth--for the larger vessels presently engaged in world commerce. Likewise, there have been frequent occurrences in recent years of less than authorized project depths at the mouth of the Mississippi River resulting from heavy silting in Southwest Pass. the Turning to the Tidewater area of the Port of New Orleans portion of the port facilities that are directly connected to the Gulf of Mexico via the 76 mile Mississippi River-Gulf Outlet Channel there has been an average yearly growth in vessel visitation of over 6% during the period of 1970 to 1980, with over 1500 in 1982. pate even greater growth as new facilities are brought on line. In this essential area of the Port, we estimate that approximately $500 million public and private funds) have been expended thus far. We antici A total of 35 percent of the Port of New Orleans general cargo passing over public facilities is handled in the Tidewater (MR-GO) Port Area. The steady growth in ship passages and cargo tonnage is the direct result of construction of public facilities and private terminals in this area of the Port. The most recent cargo statistics published |