May 3, 1978
Page 12375
Mr. DOMENICI. Mr. President, I yield myself 5 minutes.
First, Mr. President, I would like to yield to the Senator from Maine (Mr. MUSKIE) for purposes of a colloquy.
Mr. MUSKIE. Mr. President, I would inquire of the distinguished Senator from New Mexico regarding the coverage of his amendment. I am particularly concerned as to which waterways will be included under the definition of "inland waterways of the United States" in section 305. I understand that the Senator from New Mexico has a list of waterways to which his amendment applies.
Mr. DOMENICI. Yes, I have here a list prepared by the Corps of Engineers which describes all waterways covered by this provision. I send that list to the desk and ask unanimous consent that it be printed in the RECORD at this point.
There being no objection, the list was ordered to be printed in the RECORD, as follows:
The following inland and intracoastal waterways of the United States are subject to this Act
Alabama-Coosa Rivers.
Allegheny River.
Apalachicola-Chattahoochee and Flint Rivers.
Arkansas River (McClellan-Kerr Arkansas River Navigation System) .
Atchafalaya River.
Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway.
Black Warrior-Tombigbee-Mobile Rivers.
Columbia River (Columbia-Snake Rivers Inland Waterways).
Cumberland River.
Green and Barren Rivers.
Gulf Intracoastal Waterway.
Illinois Waterway (Calumet-Sag Channel).
Kanawha River.
Kaskaskia River.
Kentucky River.
Lower Mississippi River.
Upper Mississippi River.
Missouri River.
Monongahela River.
Ohio River.
Ouachita-Black Rivers.
Pearl River.
Red River.
Tennessee River.
White River.
Willamette River.
Amite River and Bayou Manchac, LA.
Atchafalaya Basin E–W access channels, LA.
Barataria Bay Waterway, LA.
Bayou Bonfouca, LA.
Bayou Dupre, LA.
Bayou Grosse Tete, LA.
Bayou Lafourche and Lafourche Jump WW, LA.
Bayou Plaquemine Brule, LA.
Bayou Segnette, LA.
Bayou Teche and Vermilion River, LA. Bayou Terrebone, LA.
Black River, AR, MO.
Blackwater River, FL.
Bolles Harbor, MI.
Canaveral Harbor, FL.
Cape Fear River, NC.
Cedar Bayou, TX.
Channel from Back Sound to Lookout Bight, NC.
Chefuncte River and Bogue Falls, LA.
Clatskanie River, OR.
Clear Creek and Clear Channel, TX.
Clinton River, MI.
Coos and Millicoma Rivers, OR.
Cowlitz River, WA.
Cypress Bayou and Waterway, TX, LA.
Darien Harbor, GA.
Delaware Bay-Chesapeake Bay Waterway (VA portion) , project recently classified "inactive" because Governors of the three States withdrew support. Project name reverted back to its old name, "Waterway on the Coast of VA, VA".
Double Bayou, TX.
Escambia & Conecuh Rivers, AL, FL.
Freshwater Bayou, LA.
Grand River Harbor and Grand River, MI.
Greenville Harbor, MS.
Houston Ship Channel (shallow draft segment), TX.
Intracoastal Waterway Caloosahatchee to Anclote River, FL.
Lake River, WA.
Little Caillou Bayou, LA.
Long Island Intracoastal Waterway, NY.
Manteo (Shallowbag) Bay, NC.
Matagorda Ship Channel (shallow draft portion) , TX.
Memphis Harbor, TN.
Mermentau River, Bayou Nezpique and Des Cannes, LA.
Mermentau River, LA.
Minnesota River, MN.
Nanticoke River, DE, MD.
Narrows of Lake Champlain; NY, VT.
New Jersey Intracoastal Waterway, NJ.
Neuse River, NC.
Okeechobee Waterway, FL.
Old River, CA.
Pamlico-Tar Rivers, NC.
Petit Anse Tigre and Carlin Bayous, LA.
Roanoke River, NC.
Rollinson Channel, NC.
Sacramento River (Shallow-draft), CA.
Savannah River below Augusta, SC, GA.
Smith River, OR.
St. Croix River, MN, WI.
Siuslaw River; OR.
Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway, AL, MS.
Trinity River and Tributaries, TX.
Vinton Waterway, LA.
Waterway connecting Pamlico Sound with Beaufort Harbor, SC.
Waterway from Empire, LA to Gulf of Mexico, LA.
Waterway from Intracoastal Waterway to Bayou Dulac, LA.
Waterway Norfolk, VA to Sounds of North Carolina, VA, NC.
Wicomico River, MO.
Yaquina River, OR.
Mr. MUSKIE. Is this an inclusive list of all waterways which will be covered by this amendment?
Mr. DOMENICI. Yes, it is.
Mr. MUSKIE. I am pleased to learn that. I am concerned with the potential for ambiguity in the definition, "inland waterway of the United States," at least as it applies to certain rivers in Maine which are maintained by the Corps of Engineers to support a variety of traffic including, in some cases, barge traffic. I note that no waterways in Maine are included in the list of waterways which the Senator from New Mexico has sent to the desk. So his statement that the list excludes all other waterways is reassuring. If I can prevail on the Senator from New Mexico just a bit longer, I would draw his attention to the situation on three rivers in Maine which come to mind with regard to this provision. I would like his assurance that the Fore River, the Penobscot River, and Kennebec River are not subject to the provisions of his amendment. The Corps of Engineers does occasional dredging on various portions of those rivers for a variety of reasons to support a variety of traffic including oceangoing vessels, recreational vessels, fishing vessels, and commercial barges. It is not clear to me from the information available which type of vessel provides the primary rationale for the dredging which the Corps of Engineers periodically undertakes on portions of these rivers. Is it the understanding of the Senator from New Mexico that, notwithstanding the definition of "inland waterways of the, United States" in section 305, his amendment would not apply to any river in Maine?
Mr. DOMENICI. The Senator from Maine is correct. My amendment does not apply to any rivers in Maine. I appreciate his concern that this matter be clarified, so let me repeat that the list of waterways I have sent to the desk is an all inclusive list of waterways to which my amendment applies. Notwithstanding the definition in section 305, no river in Maine is covered. Further I assure him, with particular reference to the Kennebec River, the Fore River, and the Penobscot River in Maine, those rivers are not covered by the provisions of my amendment.
Mr. MUSKIE. I thank the Senator.