Prior to recessing for the elections both Houses of Congress passed Water Resources Development Act bills which must now be conferenced in the lame duck session. Soy Transportation Coalition Executive Director Mike Steenhoek says the new WRDA bills are a continuation of what was approved in the 2014 package, including public-private partnerships for inland waterways projects

He says his group is involved in several of the inland waterway public-private partnerships to help increase opportunities for shipping ag commodities.

Steenhoek is hoping Congress will finalize the WRDA measures and get them conferenced and approved during the lame duck. However, he says the outcome depends on the November elections.

There had been some discussion during the most recent WRDA debate of moving inland waterway funding away from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and put into the hands of a private entity to determine project financing.