FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, November 12, 1998
Contact: Bill Adams
Tel.: (202) 366-5580
DOT 203-98
Federal Agencies Join To Host
National Marine Transportation System Conference
Secretary of Transportation Rodney E. Slater will host a national conference next week as part of an ongoing interagency effort to ensure that America’s marine transportation system will be able to support in a safe, environmentally sound and efficient manner the large growth in commerce expected early in the 21st Century.
The conference will build upon issues discussed during the past year at listening sessions in seven port cities. The U.S. Coast Guard and the Maritime Administration, two Department of Transportation agencies, conducted the listening sessions.
The conference on "The Marine Transportation System: Waterways, Ports and their Intermodal Connectors" will be held at the Airlie Center in Warrenton, Va., Nov. 17 - 19. It will provide a forum for public and private stakeholders to discuss actions that must be taken to ensure that the system will meet the challenges ahead.
Conference objectives include developing a common understanding of the importance of the marine transportation system, seeking agreement on a vision for the system in the year 2020 and reaching shared consensus on a framework for coordinating efforts at the national, regional and local levels.
A cross-section of marine transportation system stakeholders have been invited to participate. Federal agencies involved include the Department of Transportation, the Army Corps of Engineers, the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Customs Service.
Private sector and public interest organizations representing vessel operators, shippers, stevedores, terminal operators, port interests, shipyards, truckers, railroads, pipelines, commercial fishing, recreational boating, environmentalists, dredgers, labor, academia and consultants will be participating.
The vision statement and proposals for improving coordination among stakeholders developed at the conference will be published in the Federal Register, to provide all interested parties the opportunity to comment.
There will be two press availabilities at the Airlie Center featuring Secretary Slater, Coast Guard Commandant Adm. James M. Loy and Maritime Administrator Clyde J. Hart Jr. The first includes opening remarks and begins at 8:30 a.m. Tuesday, Nov. 17. The second, from 10:00 a.m. to noon, Thursday, Nov. 19, includes reports and discussions of major recommendations.
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