Waterways Association of Pittsburgh (WAP) 2010 National Harbor Safety Committee of the Year

At the recent Harbor Safety Committees and Area Maritime Committees Conference in Houston, Texas, the Waterways Association of Pittsburgh was awarded the 2010 National Harbor Safety Committee of the Year award by Mr. Dana Goward. A press release is attached.

Press Release-Harbor Safety Updated

HSC Blog Welcome Letter

Last June Mr. Rajiv Khandpur sent a letter outlining the use and benefits of this blog.  If you didn't get the letter, you can read a copy of it here:

Blog Intro Letter

2011 National HSC/AMSC Conference Agenda

Photo courtesy of Greater Houston Convention and Visitors Bureau

The agenda for next week's HSC/AMSC conference in Houston is set and available from the Transportation Research Board.  Click HERE for a link to the current agenda.

Some highlights include:

• A welcoming keynote address from the Commandant of the Coast Guard, ADM Bob Papp
• A first day networking luncheon
• The HSC of the Year award presentation
• A luncheon presentation from RADM Sinclair Harris, USN on The Connection between Transnational Crime and Terrorism
• The social event at a Houston Astros Ballgame
• Presentations from Coast Guard Director of Marine Transportation Systems Management, Mr. Dana Goward and the incoming Eighth Coast Guard District Commander, RADM Roy Nash
• Plus many informative presentations and breakout sessions.

You can still sign up to attend the conference online HERE.

We're looking forward to seeing you in Houston next week!

2011 Joint Harbor Safety Committees (HSCs) and Area Maritime Security Committees (AMSCs) Conference Update

The 2011 Joint Harbor Safety and Area Maritime Security Committees Conference will be held June 7-9, 2011, at the Hilton Americas Hotel in Houston, TX. This year’s conference is being hosted by Coast Guard Sectors Houston-Galveston and Port Arthur, and our port and industry partners from the Upper Texas Coast, along with the Transportation Research Board (TRB).

The theme of this year’s conference is “Safeguarding the Nation's Maritime Gateways.” The conference will consist of two distinct program sessions: a Coast Guard-only session (addressing topics internal to the CG) will be held on 6 June, and; the general session will begin on 7 June. The general session is open to all registrants, and will feature many senior leaders from federal, state, and local governments, and maritime industry to stimulate lively discussion of topics within the safety and security arena. Discussion panels will address such topics as the USCG Authorization Act, towing safety, ocean policy and coastal marine spatial planning, STCW code, CDC security, alternative energy issues, and best practices and lessons learned. Registration is now open and must be completed via the TRB website at: http://trb.org/Calendar/Blurbs/Joint_Harbor_Safety_Committee_and_Area_Maritime_Se_163950.aspx

Planning conferences are continuing via phone on a biweekly basis. The next telephone conference is scheduled for 2:00pm EST on Wednesday, 9 Feb. The focus of the next teleconference is to finalize topics and speakers. If you would like to participate in the telephone conference or otherwise contribute your thoughts, suggestions and input to conference, please contact:

Harbor Safety Committees: Represented by Oceans and Transportation Policy Division (CG-5521)
Dennis Fahr, Dennis.Fahr@uscg.mil, 202-372-1531
LCDR Charles Bright, Charles.J.Bright@uscg.mil, 202-372-1530

Area Maritime Security Committees: Represented by Domestic Ports Division (CG-5541)
LCDR Kevin Reed, Kevin.B.Reed@uscg.mil, 202-372-1109
LTJG Alex Maza, Alexander.J.Maza@uscg.mil, 202-372-1110LTJG William Gasperetti, William.N.Gasperetti@uscg.mil, 202-372-1139

Transforming the Marine Transportation System: A Vision for Research and Development

The Committee on the Marine Transportation System, in cooperation with the Transportation Research Board, hosted a conference on research and development for the Marine Transportation System June 29 through July 1, 2010.  The conference was held at the Beckman Center of the National Academies in Irvine California and was a big success.  Many of the issues discussed are pertinent to Harbor Safety Committees and members of the maritime community.

You can view the conference agenda as well as all the presentations given at the following website: Research and Development Conference

To view the presentation, simply click on the topic in the agenda (underlined) and the appropriate file will open.  The presentations are excellent and well worth your time to peruse. While you're exploring the agenda from the R&D Conference, now is the time to start thinking of ideas for next year's HSC/AMSC conference.  If you have any ideas, please feel free to post them to this blog as comments to this blog.

DOWNTOWN HOUSTON SELECTED AS PRIMARY CANDIDATE FOR 2011 HARBOR SAFETY MARITIME SECURITY CONFERENCE

On Tuesday August 3rd the Harbor Safety / Maritime Security (HSMS) Conference planning committee agreed to select historic Downtown Houston as the primary site for the 2011 conference. The date ranges are still being finalized but early May and early June are contenders. The next step will be for the Transportation Research Board to develop and release a request for proposals from potential venues. There are several hotels in the area which may be interested in hosting the conference.  We won't have a final date and venue to report until all responses to the RFP are in, evaluated and a contract signed.

Here is some information on the area from the Houston Downtown Management District:

“Downtown Houston is booming thanks to an unprecedented amount of public and private investment-- developers have spent more than $4 billion in the last decade to transform downtown into a vital city center.


Downtown Houston is home to dramatic 20th Century skyscrapers housing the offices where many of downtown’s 140,000 workers are employed, a world-class Theater District, a growing residential population, a popular nightlife scene centered in the Historic District, new light rail, an enhanced convention center and numerous new hotels. It also boasts two state-of-the-art sports facilities that attract millions throughout the year.


The Houston Downtown Management District has facilitated many of the public and private projects that have transformed downtown over the last decade. The District began its revitalization efforts in 1995. To accelerate the renewal of the city's urban core, the District set several important goals with quality of life as the underlying theme: building a lasting constituency for downtown; recruiting investors, retailers and tenants while retaining those already downtown; and making downtown clean, safe and attractive.”

Downtown Houston will no doubt be an excellent location for next year’s conference. Please monitor this Blog closely for additional information. We’ll post it as quickly as it becomes available. In the mean time, you can learn more about Downtown Houston by visiting the area’s website (please note that the Coast Guard does not endorse this website nor any specific business highlighted): http://www.downtownhouston.org/

We look forward to seeing you in Downtown Houston next spring.

NY & NJ HARBOR OPERATIONS AND SAFETY COMMITTEE: TOOL OF THE GOVERNMENT

Guest post by Mr. John F. Tavolaro, the Deputy Chief of the Operations Division at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers New York District.

NY - NJ HARBOR OPERATIONS AND SAFETY COMMITTEE: TOOL OF THE GOVERNMENT

Now that I have your attention, let me describe how my agency, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New York District, leverages the NY and NJ Harbor Operations and Safety Committee (Harbor Ops) in our Regulatory Permit Program. First some background on both.

In the Port of NY and NJ we have a very active and vibrant Harbor Ops Committee, which is a direct reflection of the active and vibrant Harbor community. Harbor Ops casts a wide net and is inclusive of anyone who cares to participate and express an opinion. It has a Steering Committee, made up of some of the key Port players such as the US Coast Guard, Harbor Pilot organizations, NOAA, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and others. This group vets subjects of interest and creates the agenda for the second group the Harbor Operations Full Committee, which is made up of the broader public, such as terminal operators, tug companies and others. The Full Committee is briefed on harbor issues related to safety and operations and provides feedback.

One of the many programs that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers manages is the Regulatory Program. Anyone who proposes to perform dredging, construction, filling or dumping of dredged material in waters of the U.S. or ocean waters needs to obtain a permit from the Corps, pursuant to several federal laws. Part of this permit process is a public interest review, involving soliciting public comments by way of public notices and/or public meetings or hearings. In a highly populated and busy Port such as ours, there are many competing interests that all want access to the water – commercial, recreational, residential and industrial. Sometimes proposals are made that might create unsafe conditions if they were built as planned because of a lack of understanding on how competing interests already use the waterway. We have found that before a permit proposal goes out for public comment it is very useful to vet it with the Harbor Ops committees to obtain insight on the navigational safety of the proposal and how it might be modified or amended in order to be made safer.

Here’s how it works. An applicant comes in to us with a proposal, usually as a pre-application submittal (most permit applicants know it is better to come talk to us before submitting a formal application so that the time clock for a decision isn’t running - it makes it easier to engage in a constructive dialogue and change the proposal if necessary). We will review it and give them comments, including the comment that they must obtain comments and suggestions on the proposal from Harbor Ops, if we believe the proposal will be something that Harbor Ops is interested in. The applicant will then set up time on the agenda for the Steering Committee and brief them. The Steering Committee will provide constructive comments directly to the applicant, and if appropriate, put the proposal on the agenda for the Full Committee for comment. Usually, the applicant will modify their proposal to account for the comments received from the Harbor Ops committees before submitting their formal application. The beauty of this is that one important part of our public interest review for the permit application, navigational safety and minimizing interference with other legitimate uses of the waters, is pretty much taken care of before we even get the formal application. Working through the Harbor Ops structure is a quicker and fairly painless way of obtaining these comments. If we were to issue a public notice and receive individual comments from many of these same players, it would be far more time consuming, frustrating and tedious for all involved. I think leveraging the Harbor Ops committees in this manner better serves the public and directly engages all the necessary players in an efficient and transparent manner – it’s good government.

John F. Tavolaro
Deputy Chief, Operations Division
US Army Corps of Engineers New York District