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    • Dec 10, 2025by:   Curtis Hoff No Comments

      AIWA Newslette,r December 2025

      Cruisers Net is proud to be a member of the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway Association, whose lobbying work is crucial to keeping the Waterway navigable and safe. Your membership dollars directly support their vital work. Please join and encourage your boating neighbors to do the same, regardless of their home port.

       

       

       
      The AIWA Annual Meeting was a big success! After the federal government re-opened in early November, many of our agency partners were able to join us and we are grateful for their efforts to be with us. Within only a few short days between the government re-opening and the start of the annual meeting, their flexibility and desire to be with us made all the difference! Thanks to each and every one of you, and we especially want to thank our two keynote speakers, Lt. Col. Vanessa R. Bowman, Deputy Commander of the Savannah District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Commander Nathaniel Robinson, U.S. Coast Guard Marine Safety Unit Savannah.

      During our time together, attendees heard from staff of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers South Atlantic Division and Districts, and Kyle Ward from NOAA. The presentations from USACE included their State of the Waterway updates with successes from the previous year, ongoing dredging and maintenance efforts along the waterway, and a look to future efforts. Mr. Ward shared updates on mapping and charting for the National Ocean Service and how those efforts were being implemented along the waterway and associated ports.

      We were also joined by Jamie McCurry, Chief Administrative Officer for the Georgia Ports Authority. As they address the needs of the Savannah and Brunswick ports today, it’s exciting to hear of their anticipated growth and expansion in the coming years.

      Five experts representing various segments of the waterway stakeholder community led discussions on federal policy and appropriations. Julie Ufner from the National Waterways Conference, Brian Vahey from the American Waterways Operators and Justin LeBlanc from Desimone Consulting Group provided a comprehensive overview of current actions impacting our commercial and governmental users, while David Kennedy from BoatUS and Ben Murray from the National Marine Manufacturers Association represented our recreational and marine industry perspectives.

      Additional stakeholder groups were represented in presentations and collaborative discussions including Devon Carlock from Cottrell Contracting Corporation for the dredging industry, and Lou Nash from Measutronics and Michael Carris from Trimble offering insights on marine technologies and GPS.

      We continue to explore ways to support waterway maintenance through Beneficial Use of Dredged Material including overcoming hurdles to those efforts, and learned how local government efforts in North Carolina to partner with the Corps can improve navigation maintenance led by Ken Willson from Coastal Protection and Engineering.

      All presentations are available on the annual meeting webpage. With numerous opportunities to engage with one another, we see the fruits of collaboration continuing with each annual meeting. Thanks to our sponsor partners who help to make the annual meeting possible!

      Save the Date to join us in Atlantic Beach, Florida on November 17-19, 2026.

       
      What We’re Watching in Washington

      Congress passes a Continuing Resolution and three appropriations bills for FY26

      On November 12, the President signed into law the “Continuing Appropriations, Agriculture, Legislative Branch, Military Construction and Veterans Affairs, and Extensions Act, 2026.”

      Ending the largest shutdown in history, three of twelve of appropriations bills have now been enacted and the government will remain open until January 30, 2026. However, nine appropriations bills, including the Energy & Water Appropriations Bill that funds the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, need to be passed individually or in a package or the agencies funded by those bills will shut down once again in February.
       On November 24, the Senate Appropriations Committee released its Fiscal Year 2026 Energy and Water Development bill, proposing total funding of $65.626 billion for the fiscal year. The bill provides $9.79 billion for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and $1.577 billion for the Bureau of Reclamation. The Department of Energy would receive $49.57 billion under the Senate proposal. We have updated the table below showing the Senate funding for the waterway compared with the President’s budget and the House version. Highlights for the waterway include:

      • Totals over $38 million in Operations & Maintenance Funding
      • Matches President’s funding request, but doesn’t include any Congressionally-directed spending (i.e. earmarks)
      • Includes funding for all five states along the waterway and for our partners in New Jersey
      • Includes additional dredging funding needs mini-pots in which the waterway is eligible for additional funding at the discretion of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

      Looking ahead
      We are hopeful that Congress will come to an agreement on federal funding for the remaining appropriations bills prior to January 30. We will be watching for the Senate to pass their Energy & Water Appropriations Bill and will be advocating for waterway funding to match the House of Representatives amounts. Fortunately, work continues unimpeded along the waterway and more projects are planned for 2026 and beyond.

       
      Brad Pickel, AIWA Executive Director, and David Kennedy, BoatUS and AIWA Board Chair, were interviewed on WTOC Savannah just prior to start of the Annual Meeting.

      Full interview link 🔗

       
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      Copyright © 2025. Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway Association. All rights reserved.

      The AIWA is a national non-profit organization with the mission of securing funding and support for the maintenance of the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway. We are the only organization dedicated to ensuring the future of the AIWW and proudly represent all stakeholders of the waterway. 

      Contact:
      Atlantic Instracoastal Waterway Association
      5a Market |  Beaufort, SC 29906
      (843) 379-1151 |  atlanticintracoastal.org 

       

       
       
       
       
       

       

       

       

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