Washington Waves for September 23, 2024
Washington, D.C.—Newly promoted Lt. Gen. William H. “Butch” Graham Jr. assumed command of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, becoming the Army’s 56th Chief of Engineers. Graham assumed command from outgoing commander Lt. Gen. Scott Spellmon during a change-in-command ceremony hosted by Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George.
Commissioned as an engineer officer from the Reserve Officer Training Corps at the University of Pittsburgh in 1989, Graham most recently served as the deputy commanding general for Civil and Emergency Operations at Corps headquarters in Washington. His prior experience includes serving as the North Atlantic Engineer Division commander in Brooklyn, N.Y., Pittsburgh Engineer District commander and the Corps chief of staff in Washington.
In its statement, the Corps said Graham is focused on continuing the organization’s priorities of safety and “delivering quality projects on schedule and within budget.”
“It is the honor of a lifetime to lead this group of dedicated professionals,” Graham said.
Following the ceremony, Spellmon, a 1986 graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y., retired after a 38-year active-duty career.
As commanding general since September 10, 2020, Spellmon led the organization’s support to the armed forces both at home and abroad, addressed various national water resources infrastructure challenges and supported multiple emergency response missions including the Maui wildfires in August 2023 and the collapse of Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge in March 2024.
Government Shutdown
With a shutdown looming, the Republican-led House rejected a largely partisan bill that would have funded the government for six months but would have been a non-starter for the Democratic-led Senate and the White House.
H.R. 9494, which also included a controversial election measure, failed on a 202-220 vote, with 14 Republicans voting against it and two voting present. Three Democrats supported the bill.
Congress has until midnight September 30 to come up with a stopgap measure to keep federal agencies funded.
Following the vote, a “disappointed” House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) explained holding a vote on the bill was the right play despite the outcome.
“We now go back to the play book,” said Johnson, who up to now has been unwilling even to speculate about a Plan B. “We’ll draw up another play, and we’ll come up with a solution.”
Top Democrats called on Johnson to drop his partisan approach that has no chance of becoming law and agree to bipartisan talks.
Coast Guard Rules
The Coast Guard issued its final rule revising regulations associated with the approval, carriage and maintenance of certain safety equipment required on board vessels and offshore units or facilities.
Effective October 18, the Coast Guard stated, the rule aligns regulations with current industry practice, provides more transparent regulations for the regulated industry, eliminates outdated requirements, reduces inspection and testing requirements and updates standards incorporated by reference. Additionally, the Coast Guard said, the revisions remove obsolete sections and align conflicting sections with the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea.
Documents are available at www.regulations.gov, Docket No. USCG-2020-0519. For additional information, contact Lt. Jeff Bors at 571-610-2849 or Jeffrey.S.Bors@uscg.mil.
The Coast Guard also announced a final rule amending certain Great Lakes Pilotage regulatory requirements to align with current Coast Guard and U.S. pilot association operations and pilotage practices. Effective October 17, the rule clarifies the different phases of training and types of registrations for pilots who work on the Great Lakes, eliminates outdated practices and redundant requirements and adds much needed structure regarding the billing dispute process.
Documents mentioned in this preamble can be viewed at www.regulations.gov, USCG-2022-0025. For additional information, contact Vincent Berg at 202-906-0835 or vincent.f.berg@uscg.mil.
Center Of Excellence
The Maritime Administration (MarAd) is soliciting applications from qualified training entities for the next round of Center of Excellence designations. Applications must be submitted by 8 p.m. ET November 12 and may be emailed to CoEDMWTE@dot.gov. MarAd’s application procedure and program details are also on its website at www.maritime.dot.gov/education/maritime-centers-excellence. For additional information, contact Gerard Wall at 202-366- 7273 or gerard.wall@ dot.gov.
Ballast Water
The Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) extended by 90 days the time for a decision in its investigation into conditions created by Canada in connection with regulation of ballast water management systems that may adversely affect the operation of U.S. carriers in the Great Lakes trade.
Written in English, comments should be submitted by October 15 via www.regulations.gov and be identified by Docket No. FMC-2024-0008. For additional information, contact David Eng at 202-523-5725 or Secretary@fmc.gov.
Chinese Cranes
The American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA) applauded the decision by the U.S. Trade Representative to exclude cranes manufactured in China, ordered prior to the May 14 tariff announcement and delivered before May 14, 2026, from a 25 percent tariff on ship-to-shore cranes. AAPA applauds this exemption, which would only have arbitrarily punished port authorities with outstanding orders.
“Our industry sincerely thanks the Biden Administration for listening to the concerns of America’s ports by making a targeted exclusion to the tariff on Chinese-manufactured ship-to-shore cranes,” AAPA President and CEO Cary Davis said. “This wise decision will prevent more than $130 million in unexpected costs for these public ports with tight budgets.”
Davis also expressed hope the White House will redouble its efforts with Congress to create incentives to build out a market for U.S. manufacturing of ship-to-shore cranes so ports can continue to be upgraded and modernized.
