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    • Oct 4, 2024by:   Larry Dorminy No Comments

      AIWA October 2024 Newsletter

      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 likewise, regardless of their homeport.

       

      One month away! AIWA’s 25th Anniversary Annual Meeting
      November 18-20, 2024
      Charleston, SC

      The AIWA’s 25th Anniversary Annual Meeting is fast approaching and we hope you are making plans to attend and learn from a distinguished group of speakers and network with fellow waterway stakeholders. In addition to confirmed speakers, we are expecting leaders from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. DOT Maritime Administration, and NOAA to attend this year’s celebratory annual meeting in Charleston, South Carolina. The program will include:

      • State of the Waterway presentations of recently completed projects and upcoming projects for all USACE Districts along the waterway in 2025
      • Beneficial use of dredged material and natural infrastructure, including representatives from industry, universities and federal agencies
      • Waterway closures and impacts to stakeholders and M-95
      • Dredging challenges and safety issues
      • Emerging technologies and solutions
      • and more! 

      We expect to finalize the agenda in the next couple of weeks. If there are topics you would like to see added to the 25th anniversary program, please contact us at aiwa@atlanticintracoastal.net.

      Early registration rates and the hotel room block close on October 18, and we encourage you to make your plans today! 

      Sponsorships are available beginning at $525 and includes one event registration.

      Registration information, sponsor opportunities, and hotel information can be found on our conference web page. https://atlanticintracoastal.org/annual-meeting-2024

       
      Congress Passes Continuing Resolution for
      FY2025 Appropriations Bills
      After their August recess, Congress returned to Washington with a looming government shutdown at the end of September. After a false start and posturing by a number of members of Congress and outside influences, The House passed a relatively “clean” continuing resolution on September 25. The continuing resolution was then taken up and passed by the U.S. Senate on the same day and subsequently signed by President Biden on September 26, which keeps federal agencies open through December 20th.

      In making the decision to only pass a three-month extension, the tables are set for another Congressional showdown right before Christmas. While Congress doesn’t have to wait until the last minute, it is highly unlikely that any movement will take place prior to mid-December with Congress out of session until after the election. Passing a three-month extension was the most palatable option for both political parties since each side is gambling that their party will control more votes needed for passage after the election. The best case scenario for the waterway would be for Congress to pass the Energy & Water Appropriations bill in December, but the reality is that if either party controls both the House and Senate after the election, there will likely be another continuing resolution so that controlling party can exert their will to pass new appropriations bills, especially if they also control the presidency. If the House and Senate remain as is, there will be a stronger push to pass the appropriations bills and have a clean slate for the new Congress in January 2025.

      In the table below is the current breakdown of funding as it stands today (same as last month). In addition, the House and Senate have also included the following amounts in the Additional Dredging Needs funding pots which we are eligible to receive.

      • General Navigation – House: $931.945 million, Senate: $20 million
      • Inland Waterways – House: $50 million, Senate: $64.987 million
      • Small, Remote & Subsistence Navigation – House: $90 million, Senate: $329,178 million
       

      Updated Local Notice to Mariners (LNM 40/24):
      New Waterway Closure Schedule for Onslow Beach Swing Bridge Replacement near Camp Lejuene, NC

      After a multi-month suspension of construction activities to construct a new bridge to replace the Onslow Beach Swing Bridge across the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway, mile 240.7, at Camp Lejeune, NC, the U.S. Coast Guard has given the green light again for the contractor to perform in water construction activities that require multi-day shutdowns of the waterway for two weeks in November. To facilitate construction of the bascule span (structural steel), the new bridge will remain in the closed-to-navigation position and will not be able to open at any time during the extended bridge closure periods, as reflected below:

      • from 7 a.m. on Monday, November 4, 2024, through 9 p.m. on Thursday, November 7, 2024
      • from 7 a.m. on Monday, November 18, 2024, through 9 p.m. on Thursday, November 21, 2024

      While additional work will be performed at other times with limited waterway openings, during the time periods listed above there will be no openings for waterway users. We encourage everyone to read the full Local Notice to Mariners by clicking here. The specific section related to this project begins on page 33 of 61.

      Through efforts undertaken by Mr. Robert Sherer and other recreational boating partners along with input from our commercial members, the AIWA was able to highlight that there are “no good weeks” in the fall for waterway shutdowns. Although we were unable to successfully remove full closures, the U.S. Coast Guard invited and listened to our concerns regarding the waterway closure and pushed the closures back to the last month of hurricane season, reduced the initially requested closures to one quarter of the request, integrated a construction cancellation plan for incoming heavy weather, and took into account the semi-annual snow bird migration.

      We know that our engagement on behalf of the waterway users made a difference and we want to thank the U.S. Coast Guard for inviting our engagement in this project.

       
      See you this November in Charleston, SC!
       
       
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      Copyright © 2024. 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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