Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation

Advisory Board Meeting Minutes

Friday, September 30, 2016 (2:00 p.m.) 

Massena, N.Y.; Washington, D.C. 

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PRESENT Betty Sutton (Administrator), David McMillan (Advisory Board 

Chairperson), William Mielke (Advisory Board Member), Wenona Singel 

(Advisory Board Member), Arthur Sulzer (Advisory Board Member), 

Nancy Alcalde (Director of Congressional and Public Relations), Chris 

Guimond (Director of Lock Operations and Marine Services), Carrie 

Lavigne (Chief Counsel), Tom Lavigne (Associate Administrator), Craig 

Middlebrook (Deputy Administrator), Kevin O’Malley (Director of 

Budget and Economic Development), Jeff Scharf (Director of Engineering 

and Maintenance), Adam Schlicht (Great Lakes Regional Representative), 

Nancy Scott (Chief Financial Officer), Wayne Williams (Acting Chief of 

Staff), and Charles Wipperfurth (Deputy Chief of Staff) were present. 

Chelsea Champlin (Program Support Specialist) and Joy Pasquariello 

(Public Affairs Specialist) were also in attendance. Mr. McMillan chaired 

the meeting and Ms. Champlin recorded the minutes. 

I. CALL TO ORDER 

In his capacity as Board Chairperson, David McMillan welcomed all participants to the 

Advisory Board meeting and, noting the presence of quorum, called the meeting to order at 

2:06 p.m. 

II. APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES 

On a motion by Ms. Singel and seconded by Mr. Mielke, the Board approved the minutes for 

the June 14, 2016 Advisory Board meeting. Without objection, the motion passed 

unanimously, and the June 2016 meeting minutes of the SLSDC Advisory Board were 

approved. 

III.ADMINISTRATOR’S REPORT 

Administrator Sutton provided a quarterly update to the Advisory Board membership, 

including a general overview of SLSDC activities following the previous Advisory Board 

meeting: 

x She welcomed Wayne Williams in his new role as Acting Chief of Staff for SLSDC. 

x Overall navigation season commercial traffic to-date is currently trending at 8 percent 

less than at the same time in 2015. This year’s Canadian grain crop is projected to be one 

of the largest in history. 

x She and Mr. Schlicht participated in a domestic trade mission to Houston, where they 

partnered with the Canadian St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corporation (SLSMC) to 

host industry meetings, tour the Port of Houston, and participate in the Breakbulk 
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Americas conference. Mr. Schlicht has worked to develop new relationships with the 

breakbulk and freight forwarder communities in Houston throughout the past year. 

x U.S. pilotage rates were raised in 2016 by an average of 12 percent after the U.S. Coast 

Guard significantly changed their rate calculation methodology. Stakeholders are 

displeased and SLSDC has been assisting them in facilitating greater industry 

participation in discussions on future pilot rate methodology changes. Administrator 

Sutton and Deputy Administrator Middlebrook also participated in meetings to discuss 

pilotage fees with the Coast Guard in conjunction with the SLSMC, accompanied by 

SLSMC President and CEO Terence Bowles and SLSMC Executive Vice President of 

External Relations Jean Aubry-Morin. 

x The U.S. State Department informed the International Joint Commission (IJC) on August 

10 that it had received a “green light” from the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) 

to share the interagency agreement upon draft Order of Approval and joint concurrence 

letter to Global Affairs Canada. Upon completion of negotiations, the joint governmental 

position on Plan 2014 will be transmitted to the IJC for acceptance. A public 

announcement on the adoption of Plan 2014 could occur as early as the IJC’s semi-annual 

meeting in Ottawa in late October 2016. 

x The Administrator remarked on Deputy Administrator Middlebrook and Mr. O’Malley’s 

participation during the Great Lakes Seaway Partnership’s “State Day” in Madison, Wis. 

This partnership is a public affairs and educational program intended to inform and 

educate state officials on the economic, environmental, and safety advantages of 

maritime commerce. In addition to SLSDC’s presence, Wisconsin Governor Scott 

Walker, his cabinet, and several state legislators also attended. The Partnership was 

represented by the SLSDC, Great Lakes ports, and other ocean and laker carrier 

stakeholders. 

x The Deputy Administrator added comment that this was the second State Day. He noted 

the importance of getting a broad coalition of key stakeholders at the same table and at 

the state level, working together as one “Seaway system”. He saw this as the best way to 

maximize the asset and raise the profile of the Great Lakes. Upcoming State Days will be 

held in Columbus, Ohio, and later in Minnesota and Michigan. 

IV. QUARTERLY UPDATES 

x Mr. Guimond presented his report on Lock Operations and Marine Services. Total 

completed transits (1,119) and Enhanced Seaway Inspections (179) are both higher this 

year than this point last year. In terms of performance, he reported 99.7 percent system 

availability and 99.9 percent lock availability as of September 11, 2016. The Waterway 

Analysis Management Study was conducted on June 16 which resulted in the decision to 

permanently discontinue buoys 19, 121, and 121A. These buoys were found to be 

redundant or unnecessary. Finally, Mr. Guimond reported that an emergency response 

exercise cohosted by the St. Regis Mohawk Tribal Council and local emergency 

personnel was recently completed. 

x Mr. O’Malley and Ms. Scott presented a joint report on budget and financial 

management. Mr. O’Malley noted that with the conclusion of FY 2016, SLSDC met all 

of its year-end financial goals. He went on to discuss appropriations and the FY 2017 

continuing resolution, which allows SLSDC to continue all federal operations through 

December 9 with a small (0.5 percent) rescission. He promised to deliver a full FY 2016 
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budgetary briefing at the next Board meeting once the SLSDC has presumably received 

its full fiscal year funding. Ms. Scott reported that all year-end spending has been 

completed, and the Finance team is currently working to close out the fiscal year with the 

annual financial statements. The financial audit will begin the week of October 10, the 

DOT Inspector General will arrive for a quality control review on October 24, and the 

report is expected to be completed by November 15. 

x Mr. Mielke asked about the funding for the Robinson Bay ARP project. Mr. O’Malley 

responded by explaining that it is a multi-year project for which phase I (purchase of 

equipment) will be funded in FY 2016. Phase II, for the actual construction of the 

tugboat, is expected to be an additional $10-12 million. 

x Ms. Lavigne provided a legal report, starting by noting the Civil Penalties final rule, 

which increased penalties to $88,613 from $36,000 for Seaway violations. She went on to 

update the Board on the status of the International Joint Commission water levels study 

(Plan 2014), which is on target to be completed in October. Finally, the Seaway 

International Bridge Corporation received a request from Mohawk Council to make a 

presentation to the Board, a first of its kind. The Grand Chief will present to the board on 

December 7. Deputy Administrator Middlebrook added that this is a nice milestone in the 

relationship between the Mohawk Council of Akwesasne leadership and the Canadian 

government. 

x Mr. Lavigne provided an update on the Asset Renewal Program. He noted that last year’s 

$8 million budget cut affected the hands-free mooring project implementation schedule. 

The team was successful in moving money to fund the project and expects it will be 

completed this winter at Eisenhower Lock. The design for the utilities portion of the 

hands-free mooring at Eisenhower Lock is now complete and a contract has been 

awarded. Further resolution of the ice flushing system at Snell Lock is in ongoing 

discussion with the contractor. Contract proposals for the Robinson Bay tug are being 

reviewed with one award expected to be given for phase I. Delivery of the tug is expected 

in June 2018, allowing SLSDC to spread out financing across multiple fiscal years. Last 

but not least, he reported that vessel self-spotting is on hold as SLSMC is having some 

technical complications. 

x Advisory Board Member Arthur Sulzer joined the call at 3:00 p.m. 

x Deputy Administrator Middlebrook provided a report on environmental policy and ballast 

water. The International Maritime Organization (IMO) Convention on Ballast Water will 

come into effect as Finland recently became a party to the Convention on September 8, 

2016. The U.S. is not a signatory, but because SLSDC is part of the IMO and Canada is a 

signatory, SLSDC will pay close attention to Canada’s final rule. He went on to report 

that the U.S. has not yet specified a type approved ballast water management system, but 

drafts are being submitted to the USCG. The next vessel general permits will come out at 

the end of 2018. Regarding the Vessel Incidental Discharge Act, he updated the Board on 

the current status which defines the USCG as the regulating agency for ballast water. 

This role is currently shared at the federal level between the USCG and the 

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Through the Clean Water Act (section 401), 

individual states also play a role in managing ballast water discharges. With so many 
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interested in this regulatory area, it remains a sensitive topic, according to Mr. 

Middlebrook. The SLSDC will be watching closely and report upon progress in future 

Advisory Board meetings. Finally, he mentioned that the Great Lakes Commission will 

be hosting a ballast water workshop in Detroit, Mich. on November 16 and 17. 

x Ms. Singel asked a question regarding whether there was any guidance on a ballast water 

treatment system in the IMO. Deputy Administrator Middlebrook responded to say that it 

does not specify a treatment system, but that it does take into account the guidelines for 

approval of ballast water management systems from the G8 protocol. They are trying to 

bring all the protocols to “mesh,” so all systems would have to meet international 

standards. 

x Ms. Alcalde reported on Congressional Affairs and Public Relations, beginning with the 

Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) authorization bills in Congress. 

Negotiations have begun in Conference Committee between the House and the Senate 

with the latest versions including assistance for Flint, Mich. Separately, the Vessel 

Incidental Discharge Act (VIDA) was included in the House version of the National 

Defense Authorization Act, but not in the Senate version. At this time it is unclear 

whether or not WRDA will be included in the final Defense Authorization Bill currently 

being negotiated by a House/Senate Conference Committee. On a related note, the Great 

Lakes Restoration Initiative was approved for reauthorization at $300 million a year. She 

also reported that the Conference of Great Lakes Governors and Premiers released its 

regional Maritime Transportation System Strategy on June 15, which engaged 

stakeholders at the state level. The next phase will be to implement the programs and 

policies. On the public relations side, the TruScribe “Seaway 101” public educational 

video has been completed and posted on YouTube. The video is available in English and 

French, and serves as a concise overview of the Seaway system. She reported that the 

Eisenhower Visitors’ Center closed with nearly 60,000 visitors from 44 states and 22 

countries visiting in summer 2016. Finally, new media continues to bring attention to 

SLSDC with increased Facebook “likes,” for the SLSDC and Eisenhower Lock pages. 

x Mr. O’Malley and Mr. Schlicht provided a joint report on Trade and Economic 

Development. Mr. O’Malley introduced two new employees to the team, Rebecca 

Yackley and Chelsea Champlin. Mr. Schlicht reported out on this week’s Breakbulk 

America’s conference in Houston. The conference created new business opportunities, 

included a tour of the Port of Houston, and was highlighted by the networking event held 

on Wednesday night by over 150 attendees. An SLSMC official remarked it as being the 

“single most well-attended networking event that we’ve thrown under Highway H2O in 

the last 10 years.” He went on to note that the Highway H2O Conference is in final 

planning stages and will be held in Toronto in November. He remarked on the positive 

traffic trend in August, despite an overall season that was down approximately 7-8 

percent. Finally, he remarked on his role in this new regional initiative over the past 18 

months, reiterating that recent speaking opportunities have allowed him to introduce 

SLSDC to new transportation communities for new business opportunities.
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V. OLD AND NEW BUSINESS 

Mr. Sulzer shared information regarding the first graduate of their maritime high school 

having moved on to Fort Schuyler for college-based maritime training. He also noted that he 

has 170 hours of educational materials and plans to share them with Chairman McMillan. 

Chairman McMillan stressed a high priority on having the next quarterly Advisory Board 

meeting held in person. He suggested traveling to another port or the possibility of coming to 

Washington, D.C. as a group. Deputy Administrator Middlebrook decided that, due to the 

Continuing Resolution and the presidential transition, the calendar year fourth quarter Board 

meeting will be held via teleconference. 

Mr. Wipperfurth moved to hold the meeting on the afternoon of December 14, and all parties 

were in concurrence. 

VI. CLOSING DISCUSSION AND ADJOURNMENT 

The meeting was adjourned at 3:58 p.m. with a motion to close from Chairman McMillan. 

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