IL Congressman Bost Introduces Bill To Help Inland Ports

On June 30th, U.S. Representative Bost (IL-12) introduced bipartisan legislation to increase access to critical federal funding for small ports, terminals, and waterways. Bost’s bill, the Coastal and Inland Ports and Terminals Commerce Improvements Act, establishes a competitive grant matching program for projects at smaller ports and terminals AND makes privately-owned terminals that are important contributors of our maritime commerce system eligible for assistance.

“America’s inland ports and terminals are a vital and undervalued contributor to the movement of commerce,” said Aimee Andres, Executive Director of Inland Rivers, Ports and Terminals, Inc. of East Alton, Illinois.

“Every year, 575 million tons of cargo travels through our inland ports and waterways, including America's Central Port and Kaskaskia Port in Southern Illinois” said Bost. “Half a million American jobs depend upon inland shipping, yet these ports are at a disadvantage when competing for federal grants. Improving these facilities will have a big impact on our economy and help make local farmers, miners, and manufacturers more competitive in the marketplace.”

From agricultural products like grain and fertilizer, to steel coils, petroleum, chemicals, and other general cargo, America's Central Port transports on average $1.1B in goods every year.

In 2019, Congress enacted the PORTS Act to provide matching grants for enhancing operations and efficiency investments at our larger ports. Bost's Coastal and land Ports and Terminals Commerce Improvements Act, which was co-sponsored by U.S. Rep Conor Lamb (D-PA), expands upon the success of the PORTS Act by better utilizing an existing set-aside to establish a similar competitive grant matching program for  smaller coastal and inland ports and terminals.

“The legislation sponsored by Congressman Bost (R-IL) and Congressman Lamb (D-PA), addresses inequities in existing law that have placed smaller coastal ports and terminals at a disadvantage when competing for infrastructure investments and create long-term sustainability. We appreciate their leadership on this important issue to IRPT Members”, said Andres.

This historic piece of legislation, which allows private terminals eligibility, is truly bi-partisan. The bill, sponsored by Bost (R-IL) and Lamb (D-PA), is co-sponsored by Congressmen Guy Reschenthaler (R-PA), Bob Gibbs (R-OH), and Congresswoman Carol Miller (R-WV), Congressman Dave Loebsack (D-IA) and Congresswoman Vicky Hartzler (D-MO).

Source: https://www.irpt.net/

ILLINOIS BUSINESS RELIEF ALERT: New Grants Available - Applications Accepted June 26th, 2020.

The Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO) is launching the first round of Business Interruption Grants (BIG) by providing $60 million to businesses experiencing losses or business interruption as a result of COVID-19 related closures. The BIG Program is available for up to 3,500 businesses that experienced a limited ability to operate due to COVID-19 related closures.

Funds will be distributed to qualifying businesses in early July.

In the first wave of grants, priority will be given to small businesses that have been heavily restricted or completely shut down during the pandemic. Additional priority will be given to businesses located in disproportionately impacted areas (DIAs), or low-income areas that have had high rates of COVID-19 cases. Businesses eligible for the program must have experienced extreme hardship, demonstrated by experiencing eligible costs or losses in excess of the grant amount since March. (See full eligibility criteria list here.)

Specifically, the program includes support for:

• Bars and Restaurants - Providing 1,000 grants of up to $20,000 for bars and restaurants unable to offer outside service.

• Barbershops and Salons - Providing 1,000 grants of $10,000 each for barbershops and salons.

• Gyms and Fitness Centers - Providing 500 grants of $20,000 each for gyms and fitness centers that have lost significant revenue due to COVID-19.

• Businesses located in DIAs Where There Was Recent Property Damage from Civil Unrest - Providing 1,000 grants of $20,000 each. Southwest Illinois communities include Alton, Wood River, Venice, Madison, East St. Louis, Lebanon, Caseyville, Washington Park, Cahokia, Dupo, Alotron, and Centreville. (see DIA map here)

WHEN AND WHERE TO APPLY: DCEO will begin accepting applications on June 26th, 2020. The application submission portal will be posted (here). Until the 26th, DCEO is posting the application questions and required documents for businesses and business support organizations to read, review and prepare.

• VIEW: Business Interruption Grant Application

• VIEW: Full Eligibility Criteria

For additional questions, submit an inquiry via the question submission form in English or Spanish. Submitting a question via the form ensures a timely response.

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This $60 million funding round represents only the first wave of the BIG program, which in total will amount to at least $540 million in grants for small businesses, $270 million of which has been set aside for childcare providers. For the remaining BIG funding, DCEO will issue a NOFO at a later date to seek qualified partner(s) in assisting with administering future phases of the BIG program to small businesses. America's Central Port will continue to share the latest updates as the remaining funding is made available.

America's Central Port Awarded $1.26 Million Grant for Container on Barge & Intermodal Equipment

The United States has a versatile and expansive network of navigable waterways including: rivers, bays, channels, coasts, the Great Lakes, open-ocean routes and the Saint Lawrence Seaway System. In 2007, the Department of Transportation, Maritime Administration (MARAD), created the Marine Highway Program to help maintain and enhance "America's Marine Highway," as MARAD likes to call it.

America's Central Port (ACP) plays a critical role in leveraging the transportation opportunities that help attract U.S. and foreign direct investment to the Southwest Illinois and Greater St. Louis region.

In order to capture the full transportation potential of the Mississippi River, America’s Central Port has been pursuing container-on-barge (COB) for many years. With the completion of the Madison Harbor construction in 2016, the Port has been of the firm belief that COB can happen in the St. Louis area, and that the Madison Harbor is primed for container movement.

The Madison Harbor was constructed to handle bulk movement of grain from unit trains to barge as well as general cargoes, with the movement of containers kept in the forefront of the design of the facility. A dual access road system is one example of how the Port designed the facility with the trucking and container industry in mind. Two roads lead to the Madison Harbor general cargo dock: one bypasses a rail crossing, and the other has no overhead height restrictions. This unimpeded, redundant access reduces congestion and emissions, and greatly increases efficiencies of the Madison Harbor operator and truck/chassis drivers.

The Madison Harbor is located just below Locks #27 on the Mississippi River.The Port roadway system serving the harbor allows for unimpeded access to the six-lane limited access highway (IL Route 3). From the Port’s exit onto IL Route 3, Interstates 70 and 44 are just one-mile away. From there, access to Interstates 55 and 64 are just a few miles further.

With the $1.26 million awarded from this Marine Highway grant, America's Central Port in conjunction with their operator SCF Lewis and Clark Terminals will be able to more efficiently ship and receive containerized goods by barge (COB), providing intermodal access to the Gulf of Mexico and cities like Chicago, New Orleans, and Memphis.

As a requirement for the Marine Highway grant, a 20.7% match of $331,200 will be shared between SCF and America's Central Port.

The specific components of the project include:

• Purchase of a 275-ton crane to handle the loading of containers onto barges, as well as other commodities

• Installation of up to 18 new fixed and pan/tilt/zoom cameras at the Madison Harbor to aid in the securing of containers and notification of trucks

• Purchase of a container tilter for use in loading bulk commodities into containers. 

Plans are also in development regarding the laydown area for containers. While the Marine Highway grant will be used for handling equipment, on a separate project (independent of this grant application), SCF is improving the marshaling yard area in order to more efficiently handle containers as volumes grow.

Given time needed to purchase the new equipment and installation, container on barge transportation at America's Central Port is projected to be operational later this year in 2020.