Federal Oversight of the America's Marine Highway Program in Response to the Mandates of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007

Abstract

The America’s Marine Highway Program is an initiative that seeks to ease traffic congestion in landside transportation corridors by moving freight from those highways and railroads to waterborne vessels that travel on nearby rivers and coasts. The program markets itself as an ambitious, national-scale initiative that seeks to drive economic growth and improve quality of life. Its genesis, however, is a three-page section of a 310-page Congressional act that provided for no funding and little oversight. Given this juxtaposition of good intentions and bureaucratic constraints, this paper will examine the historical context for commercial use of the nation’s inland waterway system, analyze the objectives and mechanics of the program in its current state, explore the government’s legal basis for engaging in such activities, and make specific recommendations for the program going forward.