I 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 7491 

To establish a task force on waterway freight diversification and economic 

development in the Ohio, Allegheny, and Monongahela River corridors, 

and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 29, 2024 

Mr. DELUZIO (for himself and Ms. LEE of Pennsylvania) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and 

Infrastructure, and in addition to the Committee on Financial Services, 

for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case 

for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the 

committee concerned 

A BILL 

To establish a task force on waterway freight diversification 

and economic development in the Ohio, Allegheny, and 

Monongahela River corridors, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Waterway Activation 

5 that Targets Economic Revitalization, Welcomes Activity, 

6 and Yields Success Act’’ or the ‘‘WATERWAYS Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

2 Congress finds that— 

3 (1) inland waterways provide a valuable re4 source for moving agricultural, energy, and other 

5 commodities to market in the United States; 

6 (2) further utilization of the waterways would 

7 benefit the United States because barges are among 

8 the safest and most environmentally responsible 

9 ways to transport freight, with barge transport being 

10 more fuel efficient and having lower emissions than 

11 other methods, while also resulting in fewer injuries 

12 per worker than rail or truck transport; 

13 (3) given existing issues with supply chains, it 

14 is critical that the Federal Government work to ex15 pand and promote inland waterway access, especially 

16 in regions that are coal communities or have suf17 fered from deindustrialization; and 

18 (4) it is of critical importance that the invest19 ments made possible by the Infrastructure Invest20 ment and Jobs Act (Public Law 117–58; 135 Stat. 

21 429), Public Law 117–169 (commonly known as the 

22 ‘‘Inflation Reduction Act of 2022’’) (136 Stat. 

23 1818), and other recent legislation, such as Public 

24 Law 117–167 (commonly known as the ‘‘CHIPS 

25 and Science Act of 2022’’) (136 Stat. 1366), are 

26 made with an eye toward utilizing the inland waterVerDate Sep 11 2014 06:59 Mar 04, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7491.IH H7491

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1 ways network to maximize the impact of those in2 vestments. 

3 SEC. 3. TASK FORCE ON WATERWAY FREIGHT DIVERSIFICA4 TION AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT. 

5 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

6 (1) COVERED STATE.—The term ‘‘covered 

7 State’’ means each of the States of Pennsylvania, 

8 West Virginia, Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky, Ohio, and 

9 Tennessee. 

10 (2) INTERAGENCY WORKING GROUP.—The term 

11 ‘‘Interagency Working Group’’ means the Inter12 agency Working Group on Coal and Power Plant 

13 Communities and Economic Revitalization estab14 lished by section 218 of Executive Order 14008 (86 

15 Fed. Reg. 7628; relating to ‘‘Tackling the Climate 

16 Crisis at Home and Abroad’’). 

17 (3) TASK FORCE.—The term ‘‘task force’’ 

18 means the task force established under subsection 

19 (b). 

20 (b) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Interagency Working 

21 Group shall establish a task force on waterway freight di22 versification and economic development in the Ohio, Alle23 gheny, and Monongahela River corridors. 

24 (c) MEMBERSHIP.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The task force shall be com2 posed of— 

3 (A) from the Federal Government, rep4 resentatives of— 

5 (i) the Department of Transportation; 

6 (ii) the Corps of Engineers; 

7 (iii) the Department of Energy; 

8 (iv) the Department of Commerce; 

9 (v) the Department of Agriculture; 

10 (vi) the Economic Development Ad11 ministration; 

12 (vii) the Maritime Administration; 

13 (viii) the Department of Labor; 

14 (ix) the Appalachian Regional Com15 mission; 

16 (x) the Coast Guard; 

17 (xi) the Environmental Protection 

18 Agency; 

19 (xii) the Department of the Interior; 

20 and 

21 (xiii) any other Federal agency or de22 partment the Co-Chairs of the Interagency 

23 Working Group determine to be appro24 priate; 


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1 (B) at the discretion of a covered State, 

2 representatives of relevant agencies of the cov3 ered State; and 

4 (C) local stakeholders involved in economic 

5 development, transportation, community devel6 opment, and water resource development and 

7 conservation along the Ohio, Allegheny, and 

8 Monongahela River corridors, such as metro9 politan and rural planning organizations, eco10 nomic development districts, units of local gov11 ernment, and community-based organizations. 

12 (2) APPOINTMENT.—The Co-Chairs of the 

13 Interagency Working Group shall appoint the mem14 bers of the task force under paragraph (1). 

15 (d) DUTIES.—The task force shall— 

16 (1) convene on an ad hoc basis to study, and 

17 develop recommendations to improve, waterway 

18 freight use and economic development in the Ohio, 

19 Allegheny, and Monongahela River corridors; 

20 (2) facilitate investment in the Ohio, Allegheny, 

21 and Monongahela River corridors by identifying crit22 ical projects and connecting those projects with Fed23 eral, State, and local funding opportunities; 

24 (3) coordinate and activate stakeholders around 

25 waterway development; and 


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1 (4) submit to the Interagency Working Group 

2 an annual report that describes— 

3 (A) the recommendations of the task force 

4 under paragraph (1) and the progress in imple5 menting those recommendations; and 

6 (B) the activities of the task force under 

7 paragraphs (2) and (3). 

8 (e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

9 authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

10 $5,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2024 through 2034, 

11 to remain available until expended. 

12 SEC. 4. SAVINGS PROVISION. 

13 Nothing in this Act— 

14 (1) satisfies any requirement for government-to15 government consultation with an Indian Tribe; or 

16 (2) affects or modifies a treaty or any other 

17 right of an Indian Tribe. 

Æ 


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