I 
112TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 3648 
To amend the Water Resources Development Act of 1986 to ensure that 
annual expenditures from the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund to pay 
for operation and maintenance costs are allocated equitably among eligi-
ble harbor projects, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
DECEMBER 13, 2011 
Mr. BISHOP of New York (for himself and Mr. LANDRY) introduced the fol-
lowing bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and 
Infrastructure 
A BILL 
To amend the Water Resources Development Act of 1986 
to ensure that annual expenditures from the Harbor 
Maintenance Trust Fund to pay for operation and main-
tenance costs are allocated equitably among eligible har-
bor projects, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Harbor Fairness Act 
of 2011’’. 
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SEC. 2. ASSESSMENT OF DREDGING NEEDS. 
Section 210 of the Water Resources Development Act 
of 1986 (33 U.S.C. 2238) is amended by adding at the 
end the following: 
‘‘(c) ASSESSMENT
OF OPERATION
AND MAINTE-
NANCE NEEDS.— 
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days 
after the date of enactment of this subsection, and 
biennially thereafter, the Secretary shall assess the 
total operation and maintenance needs of the har-
bors referred to in subsection (a)(2), including har-
bors used— 
‘‘(A) for commercial navigation; 
‘‘(B) for commercial fishing; 
‘‘(C) for subsistence, including harbors uti-
lized by Indian tribes (as defined in section 4 
of the Indian Self-Determination and Education 
Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 450b)) for subsist-
ence and ceremonial purposes; 
‘‘(D) as harbors of refuge; 
‘‘(E) for transportation of persons; 
‘‘(F) in relation to domestic energy produc-
tion, including harbors related to the fabrica-
tion, servicing, or supply of domestic offshore 
energy production facilities; 
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‘‘(G) by the Secretary of the department in 
which the Coast Guard is operating; 
‘‘(H) for recreation purposes; and 
‘‘(I) for any other authorized purpose. 
‘‘(2) REPORT
TO
CONGRESS.—In conjunction 
with the transmittal by the President of the budget 
of the United States for fiscal year 2013, and bien-
nially thereafter, the Secretary shall submit to the 
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of 
the House of Representatives and the Committee on 
Environment and Public Works of the Senate a re-
port that, with respect to commercial navigation 
projects for the harbors referred to in subsection 
(a)(2)— 
‘‘(A) identifies the operation and mainte-
nance costs associated with the projects, includ-
ing those costs required to achieve and main-
tain the authorized length, width, and depth for 
the projects, on a project-by-project basis; 
‘‘(B) identifies the amount of funding re-
quested in the President’s budget for the oper-
ation and maintenance costs associated with the 
projects, on a project-by-project basis; 
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‘‘(C) identifies the unmet operation and 
maintenance needs associated with the projects, 
on a project-by-project basis; and 
‘‘(D) identifies the harbors for which the 
President will allocate funding over next 5 fiscal 
years for operation and maintenance activities, 
on a project-by-project basis, including the 
amounts to be allocated for such purposes.’’. 
SEC. 3. ALLOCATION AND EXPENDITURES FOR LOCAL HAR-
BOR PROJECTS. 
Section 210 of the Water Resources Development Act 
of 1986 (33 U.S.C. 2238) is further amended by adding 
at the end the following: 
‘‘(d) EXPENDITURES FOR OPERATION AND MAINTE-
NANCE OF HARBOR PROJECTS.— 
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—To the maximum extent 
practicable, the Secretary shall make expenditures to 
pay for operation and maintenance costs of the har-
bors referred to in subsection (a)(2), including ex-
penditures of funds appropriated from the Harbor 
Maintenance Trust Fund, based on an equitable al-
location of funds among all such harbors, regardless 
of the size or tonnage throughput of the harbor. 
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‘‘(2) CRITERIA.—In determining the equitable 
allocation of funds under paragraph (1), the Sec-
retary— 
‘‘(A) shall utilize the information obtained 
in the assessment conducted under subsection 
(c); 
‘‘(B) shall consider the national and re-
gional significance of harbor operation and 
maintenance; and 
‘‘(C) shall not make such allocation based 
solely on the tonnage transiting through a har-
bor. 
‘‘(3) MINIMUM
ALLOCATION
FOR
MODERATE 
AND LOW USE WATERWAYS.—Notwithstanding the 
requirements of paragraph (1), in making expendi-
tures described in paragraph (1) for each of fiscal 
years 2013 and 2014, the Secretary shall allocate 
not less than 40 percent of the total amount of the 
expenditures to pay for operation and maintenance 
costs of moderate and low use harbors, as identified 
by the Secretary. 
‘‘(4) EMERGENCY EXPENDITURES.—Nothing in 
this subsection shall prohibit the Secretary from 
making an expenditure to pay for the operation and 
maintenance costs of a specific harbor, including the 
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transfer of funding from the operation and mainte-
nance of a separate project, if— 
‘‘(A) the Secretary determines that such 
action is necessary to address the navigation 
needs of a harbor where safe navigation has 
been severely restricted due to an unforeseen 
event; and 
‘‘(B) the Secretary provides advance notice 
and information on the need for such a deter-
mination to the Committee on Transportation 
and Infrastructure and the Committee on Ap-
propriations of the House of Representatives 
and the Committee on Environment and Public 
Works and the Committee on Appropriations of 
the Senate.’’. 
Æ 
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