The American Waterways Operators - Annual Reports 2019 | Page 5

■ Working with the Trump Administration and
Congress to streamline burdensome regulatory
requirements without compromising safety,
security or the environment, including by:
• Eliminating radar refresher training
requirements for mariners.
• Securing re-approval of the AWO Alternative
Security Plan, which saves members the
expense and administrative burden of
developing their own security plans.
• Securing House passage and Senate
Commerce Committee approval of legislation
to suspend the imposition of towing vessel
inspection user fees.
• Securing EPA’s commitment to revise its
framework for evaluating the adequacy
of proposed No Discharge Zones to
accommodate commercial vessels.
■ Advocating with government stakeholders
inside and outside the Beltway to secure
policies and funding to keep commerce moving
safely and efficiently on our waterways in the
aftermath of historic high water conditions, and
for the long-term.
• Worked with coalition partners to successfully
lobby the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to
expedite completion of critical repairs to the
Ballard Locks, cutting 52 days of outage time
from scheduled maintenance.
• Worked through the River Industry Executive
Task Force to promote safe navigation during
high water conditions.
• Secured an additional $1.8 million in funding
to allow continued dredging in the Rock
Island District.
• Worked with waterways stakeholders
to persuade the Illinois Department of
Transportation not to sponsor a public-private
partnership proposal for the Illinois River.
■ Teaming with other maritime stakeholders to
secure a U.S. Supreme Court ruling rejecting
punitive damages for unseaworthiness claims.
■ Educating federal and state policymakers
on the criticality of our industry through
testimony before Congress and more than 500
meetings with Congressional, Administration,
and key state and local officials.
■ Sponsoring 17 tugboat and towboat tours to
provide Members of Congress and their staffs
with firsthand knowledge of our industry.
■ Organizing the annual Barge-In on Capitol
Hill to educate policymakers on the policies
needed to position our industry to continue
making vital contributions to American
prosperity and security.
■ Drawing the public’s attention to our
industry’s contributions to the nation’s
prosperity and security by:
• Creating an industry educational video that
has generated over 22,000 online views and is
currently airing on PBS stations nationwide.
• Creating the AWO member Social Media
Working Group to amplify industry presence
on social media.
• Producing and distributing a 75th
anniversary book highlighting 75 years of
AWO advocacy and safety leadership.
• Implementing full-scale navigational
improvements and content updates to the
AWO website.
• Strategically placing op-eds and ads in key
trade and mainstream press publications.
2019 ANNUAL REPORT A BRIDGE TO OUR FUTURE 3 n