§ 1803. — Study with respect to inland waterway user taxes and charges.
[Laws in effect as of January 24, 2002]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
January 24, 2002 and December 19, 2002]
[CITE: 33USC1803]
TITLE 33--NAVIGATION AND NAVIGABLE WATERS
CHAPTER 32--INLAND WATERWAYS TRUST FUND
Sec. 1803. Study with respect to inland waterway user taxes and
charges
(a) Study directed
The Secretary of Transportation, and the Secretary of Commerce, in
consultation with the Secretary of the Treasury, the Secretary of
Agriculture, the Secretary of Energy, the Attorney General of the United
States, the Secretary of the Army, the Chairman of the Water Resources
Council, and the Director of the Office of Management and Budget,
shall--
(1) make a full and complete study with respect to inland
waterway user taxes and charges, and
(2) make findings and policy recommendations with respect
thereto.
Such study shall include (but shall not be limited to) a consideration
of the matters listed in subsections (b), (c), (d), (e), and (f) of this
section.
(b) Considerations relating to the taxing mechanism
(1) The extent to which the Federal Government should seek to
recover some or all of Federal expenditures for the benefit of
inland waterway transportation from the users of the facilities for
which such expenditures are made.
(2) The various forms of inland waterway user taxes and charges
which could be established.
(3) The various methods of collecting inland waterway user taxes
and charges, and the administrative costs of such taxes and charges.
(4) The classes and categories of users and other persons on
whom inland waterway user taxes and charges should be imposed.
(5) The waterways of the United States (including the Great
Lakes, deep draft channels, and coastal ports) which should be
included in any system of user taxes and charges, together with the
economic effects of such taxes and charges.
(6) The use of revenues derived from inland waterway user taxes
and charges, including consideration of changes in, or alternatives
to, the Trust Fund mechanism.
(c) Considerations relating to economic effects
The economic effects of waterway user taxes and charges on--
(1) Carriers and users
On--
(A) carriers and shippers using the inland waterways, and
(B) users (including ultimate consumers) of commodities
which are transported on the inland waterways.
(2) Regions, etc.
On--
(A) existing investment in industrial plants, agricultural
interests, and commercial enterprises, and on related
employment, in regions of the country served by inland water
transportation directly or in combination with other modes, and
(B) future economic growth prospects in such regions,
including anticipated shifts of industry and employment to other
areas together with an evaluation of effects on regional
economies and their development, including consistency with
Federal policies as set forth in other legislation.
(3) Small business and industrial concentration and
competition
On--
(A) small business enterprise, and
(B) industrial concentration and competition, both within
the transportation industry and in any line of commerce (within
the meaning of the antitrust laws).
(4) Competitors
On the freight rates charged by other modes of transportation
and the extent of short-term and long-term diversion of traffic from
the inland waterways to such other modes. In considering such
diversion of traffic, there shall also be considered the effects of
such diversion on--
(A) the development of alternative sources of supply and on
alternative modes of transportation and alternative routing to
market,
(B) the comparative safety of the handling and
transportation of hazardous materials, and
(C) the comparative energy efficiency of the modes and
routes of the transportation involved.
(5) Prices
On prices of commodities shipped by inland waterways and by
competing modes, including the costs of energy materials and the
effects on electric power rates.
(6) Balance of payments
On the balance of payments of the United States based on our
international trade.
(d) Considerations relating to economic feasibility of waterway
improvement projects; level of benefits from waterway
expenditures
(1) The effects of inland waterway user taxes and charges on the
economic feasibility of inland waterway improvement projects.
(2) The comparative levels of benefits received from Federal
expenditures on inland waterways for--
(A) commercial uses, and
(B) other uses, including (but not limited to) recreation,
reclamation, water supply, low-flow augmentation, fish and
wildlife enhancement, hydroelectric power, flood control, and
irrigation uses.
(e) Considerations relating to Federal assistance
(1) The extent of past, present, and expected future Federal
assistance to the several modes of freight transportation. Such
consideration shall include an evaluation and comparison of the
public benefits resulting from such assistance to each of the
several transportation modes in terms of adequacy, efficiency, and
economy of service, safety, technological progress, and energy
conservation. The Federal assistance considered under this paragraph
shall include all forms of such assistance, such as tax advantages,
direct grants, rate adjustments for improvement purposes, assumption
of pension fund liabilities, loans, guarantees, capital
participation, revenues from land grants, and provision of right-of-
way operation, maintenance, and improvement.
(2) The competitive effects of past, present, and expected
future Federal expenditures on inland waterways on competitive modes
of transportation.
(3) The need for Federal assistance to agricultural, industrial,
and other interests affected by inland waterway user taxes and
charges.
(f) Considerations relating to policy and future development
The effects of inland waterway user taxes and charges on--
(1) The achievement of the objectives of the National
Transportation Policy as set forth in sections 10101 and 13101 of
title 49.
(2) The expansion and improvement of the inland waterways
determined to be necessary by the Secretary of the Army under
section 158 of the Water Resources Development Act of 1976 (Public
Law 94-587) or estimated to be necessary under paragraph (3).
(3) The requirements of the Nation through the year 2000 for
transportation service, the portion thereof which should be provided
by inland waterway carriers, and an estimate of the expansion and
improvement of inland waterway capacity necessary to meet such
requirements.
(g) ``Inland waterway user taxes and charges'' defined
For purposes of this section, the term ``inland waterway user taxes
and charges'' means taxes imposed on the use of the inland and
intracoastal waterways of the United States and all alternatives to such
taxes.
(h) Report
Not later than September 30, 1981, the Secretary of Transportation
shall transmit to Congress a final report of the study required by this
section, together with his findings and recommendations (including
necessary legislation) and the findings and recommendations of the
Secretary of Commerce, the Secretary of the Treasury, the Secretary of
Agriculture, the Secretary of Energy, the Attorney General of the United
States, the Secretary of the Army, the Chairman of the Water Resources
Council, and the Director of the Office of Management and Budget.
(i) Authorization of appropriations
There are hereby authorized to be appropriated from time to time to
the Secretary of Transportation such sums, not to exceed $8,000,000 in
the aggregate, as may be necessary to carry out the study required by
this section.
(Pub. L. 95-502, title II, Sec. 205, Oct. 21, 1978, 92 Stat. 1698; Pub.
L. 104-88, title III, Sec. 338, Dec. 29, 1995, 109 Stat. 954.)
References in Text
The antitrust laws, referred to in subsec. (c)(3)(B), are classified
generally to chapter 1 (Sec. 1 et seq.) of Title 15, Commerce and Trade.
Codification
Section 158 of the Water Resources Development Act of 1976 (Public
Law 94-587), referred to in subsec. (f)(2), is section 158 of Pub. L.
94-587, Oct. 22, 1976, 90 Stat. 2933, which is set out as a note under
section 540 of this title.
Amendments
1995--Subsec. (f)(1). Pub. L. 104-88 substituted ``as set forth in
sections 10101 and 13101 of title 49'' for ``as set forth in the
preamble to the Transportation Act of 1940''.
Effective Date of 1995 Amendment
Amendment by Pub. L. 104-88 effective Jan. 1, 1996, see section 2 of
Pub. L. 104-88, set out as an Effective Date note under section 701 of
Title 49, Transportation.
Short Title
For short title of title II of Pub. L. 95-502 as the ``Inland
Waterways Revenue Act of 1978'', see section 201 of Pub. L. 95-502, set
out as a Short Title of 1978 Amendment note under section 1 of Title 26,
Internal Revenue Code.
