June 30, 2005

 Dear (Member of Congress):

American salt companies depend on efficient operation of our nation’s inland waterway system.  On behalf of the salt producers in your district, the Salt Institute urges you to strongly support this bill as reported by the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, H.R. 2864.  This bill, without the amendments from Congressmen Flake, Blumenauer, Kind and Rohrabacher, is a bipartisan compromise that is the best hope to ending the recent WRDA stalemate.  It will, in effect, restore a predictable biennial WRDA cycle.   

The following reasons illustrate why the Salt Institute urges you to support H.R. 2864: 

• The bill is founded on “quality of life” principles which depend upon both economic growth and good environmental health.
   
• It acknowledges that our water resources play a critical role in our economy and the environment.
   
• H.R. 2864 provides the Corps of Engineers with fully modern tools, streamlined studies, and the necessary peer review for planning and science-based mitigation which will allow the Corps to meet today’s water resource needs.
   
• The bill provides for timely authorizations to solve critical problems while honoring our commitment to non-Federal sponsors to achieve this.
   
• H.R. 2864 balances and authorizes both projects critical to our economy and to   ecosystem restoration efforts that are some of the largest on a global basis.
   
• The bill provides for codification of Corps improvements, which ensures confidence in its studies and recommendations. 

Let me enumerate the vast contribution of our water resources to our Nation’s environmental and economic health.  Ports and waterways contribute $718 billion to our Nation’s GDP.  They ensure domestic and international trade opportunities, for important products such as salt, consumer goods, steel, coal, fertilizer, sand and gravel, cement, petroleum and chemicals.  Salt is used as a raw material for producing other chemicals, for highway deicing which keeps our economy moving and transportation safer under winter driving conditions, and as a water softener resin regenerant, to name a few major uses.  The U.S. maritime transportation system moves greater than 60 % of the Nation’s exports and 95 % of the Nation’s imports.  Lack of reliable and efficient transportation would keep the U.S. from remaining competitive in world trade.  Unfortunately, more than 50 % of our locks and dams are crumbling because they have more than exceeded their predicted life span.  These facilities are in dire need of modernization to function properly and meet the challenge of remaining competitive in international markets.  Also, this modernization needs to be planned around sustaining the aquatic environment.  New generations of international ships will need modern, deeper shipping channels in our water transportation systems to accommodate them.  Our flood damage reduction program successfully saves lives and also prevents nearly $8 in damages for each dollar spent.  Corps hydropower facilities supply 24% of all U.S.-generated hydropower.  We see innumerable benefits from water supply projects, irrigation, recreation and wildlife habitats.  An investment in water resources will sustain U.S. economic growth, ease the growing congestion on other land means of transportation and ultimately promote a finer quality of life for our citizens. 

Due to continuing deterioration and lack of reliability of the waterways infrastructure, recently the American Society of Civil Engineers gave the nation’s waterways a “D-“, which is their lowest grade.  The U.S. cannot afford a continuation of this trend.  The Water Resources Development Act of 2005, as reported, will reverse this downward spiral of deterioration and allow us to realize substantial returns on water resource investments.  We look to your support to assure that the economy and the environment has the infrastructure needed to provide our Nation with a sustainable future. 

Sincerely,

 Susan R. Feldman
Technical Director

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