§ 988. — Rates of charges or tolls.
[Laws in effect as of January 24, 2002]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
January 24, 2002 and December 19, 2002]
[CITE: 33USC988]
TITLE 33--NAVIGATION AND NAVIGABLE WATERS
CHAPTER 19--SAINT LAWRENCE SEAWAY
Sec. 988. Rates of charges or tolls
(a) Negotiation with Canadian authorities; revenue sharing formula;
consideration of American financing costs, including interest
and debt principal; rules of measurement; hearings and
rehearings; approval by President; court review
The Corporation is further authorized and directed to negotiate with
the Saint Lawrence Seaway Authority of Canada, or such other agency as
may be designated by the Government of Canada, an agreement as to the
rules for the measurement of vessels and cargoes and the rates of
charges or tolls to be levied for the use of the Saint Lawrence Seaway,
and for an equitable division of the revenues of the seaway between the
Corporation and the Saint Lawrence Seaway Authority of Canada. Any
formula for a division of revenues which takes into consideration annual
debt charges shall include the total cost, including both interest and
debt principal, incurred by the United States in financing activities
authorized by this chapter, whether or not reimbursable by the
Corporation. Such rules for the measurement of vessels and cargoes and
rates of charges or tolls shall, to the extent practicable, be
established or changed only after giving due notice and holding a public
hearing. In the event that such negotiations shall not result in
agreement, the Corporation is authorized and directed to establish
unilaterally such rules of measurement and rates of charges or tolls for
the use of the works under its administration: Provided, however, That
the Corporation shall give three months' notice, by publication in the
Federal Register, of any proposals to establish or change unilaterally
the basic rules of measurement and of any proposals to establish or
change unilaterally the rates of charges or tolls, during which period a
public hearing shall be conducted. Any such establishment of or changes
in basic rules of measurement or rates of charges or tolls shall be
subject to and shall take effect thirty days following the date of
approval thereof by the President, and shall be final and conclusive,
subject to review as hereinafter provided. Any person aggrieved by an
order of the Corporation establishing or changing such rules or rates
may, within such thirty-day period, apply to the Corporation for a
rehearing of the matter upon the basis of which the order was entered.
The Corporation shall have power to grant or deny the application for
rehearing and upon such rehearing or without further hearing to abrogate
or modify its order. The action of the Corporation in denying an
application for rehearing or in abrogating or modifying its order shall
be final and conclusive thirty days after its approval by the President
unless within such thirty-day period a petition for review is filed by a
person aggrieved by such action in the United States Court of Appeals
for the circuit in which the works to which the order applies are
located or in the United States Court of Appeals for the District of
Columbia. The court in which such petition is filed shall have the same
jurisdiction and powers as in the case of petitions to review orders of
the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission filed under section 825l of
title 16. The judgment of the court shall be final subject to review by
the Supreme Court upon certiorari or certification as provided in
sections 1254(1) and 1254(2) of title 28. The filing of an application
for rehearing shall not, unless specifically ordered by the Corporation,
operate as a stay of the Corporation's order. The filing of a petition
for review shall not, unless specifically ordered by the court, operate
as a stay of the Corporation's order.
(b) Principles governing establishment of rates
In the course of its negotiations, or in the establishment,
unilaterally, of the rates of charges or tolls as provided in subsection
(a) of this section, the Corporation shall be guided by the following
principles:
(1) That the rates shall be fair and equitable and shall give
due consideration to encouragement of increased utilization of the
navigation facilities, and to the special character of bulk
agricultural, mineral, and other raw materials.
(2) That rates shall vary according to the character of cargo
with the view that each classification of cargo shall so far as
practicable derive relative benefits from the use of these
facilities.
(3) That the rates on vessels in ballast without passengers or
cargo may be less than the rates for vessels with passengers or
cargo.
(4) That the rates prescribed shall be calculated to cover, as
nearly as practicable, all costs of operating and maintaining the
works under the administration of the Corporation, including
depreciation and payments in lieu of taxes.
(May 13, 1954, ch. 201, Sec. 12, 68 Stat. 96; Pub. L. 91-469,
Sec. 43(b), Oct. 21, 1970, 84 Stat. 1038; Pub. L. 95-91, title IV,
Sec. 402(a)(1)(B), Aug. 4, 1977, 91 Stat. 583; Pub. L. 97-369, title
III, Sec. 311, Dec. 18, 1982, 96 Stat. 1782; Pub. L. 100-352, Sec. 6(h),
June 27, 1988, 102 Stat. 664.)
Amendments
1988--Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 100-352 substituted ``1254(2)'' for
``1254(3)''.
1982--Subsec. (b)(5). Pub. L. 97-369 struck out par. (5) which
directed that the rates provide for revenues sufficient to amortize the
principal of the debts and obligations of the Corporation over a period
of not to exceed 50 years.
1970--Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 91-469, Sec. 43(b)(1), inserted
requirement that any formula for a division of revenues which takes into
consideration annual debt charges shall include the total cost,
including both interest and debt principal, incurred by the United
States in financing activities authorized by this chapter, whether or
not reimbursable by the Corporation.
Subsec. (b)(4). Pub. L. 91-469, Sec. 43(b)(2), struck out ``,
payment of interest on the obligations of the Corporation,'' after
``depreciation''.
Effective Date of 1988 Amendment
Amendment by Pub. L. 100-352 effective ninety days after June 27,
1988, except that such amendment not to apply to cases pending in
Supreme Court on such effective date or affect right to review or manner
of reviewing judgment or decree of court which was entered before such
effective date, see section 7 of Pub. L. 100-352, set out as a note
under section 1254 of Title 28, Judiciary and Judicial Procedure.
Transfer of Functions
``Federal Energy Regulatory Commission'' substituted for ``Federal
Power Commission'' in subsec. (a) on authority of Pub. L. 95-91, title
IV, Sec. 402(a)(1)(B), Aug. 4, 1977, 91 Stat. 583, which is classified
to section 7172(a)(1)(B) of Title 42, The Public Health and Welfare.
Great Lakes and Saint Lawrence Seaway
Pub. L. 101-101, title I, Sept. 29, 1989, 103 Stat. 642, provided:
``That within available funds, the Secretary of the Army, acting through
the Chief of Engineers, is directed to initiate and complete a
reconnaissance study for the Saint Lawrence Seaway and Great Lakes-
Financing Navigational Improvements Study, as authorized in section
47(d) of Public Law 100-676 [set out below], in accordance with the cost
sharing provisions of Public Law 99-662 [Nov. 17, 1986, 100 Stat.
4082].''
Pub. L. 100-676, Sec. 47(d), Nov. 17, 1988, 102 Stat. 4042, provided
that:
``(1) Study of financing navigational improvements.--The Secretary,
in cooperation with other Federal agencies and private persons, is
authorized and directed to contract with an independent party to conduct
a study of cost recovery options and alternative methods of financing
navigational improvements on the Great Lakes connecting channels and
Saint Lawrence Seaway, including modernization of the Eisenhower and
Snell Locks of the Saint Lawrence Seaway.
``(2) Report.--Not later than 18 months after the date of the
enactment of this Act [Nov. 17, 1988], the Secretary shall transmit to
Congress a report on the results of the study carried out under this
subsection together with recommendations.
``(3) Cost sharing.--The non-Federal share of the cost of the study
under this subsection shall be 50 percent; except that not more than 1/2
of such non-Federal share may be made by the provision of services,
materials, supplies, or other in-kind services necessary to carry out
the study.''
Report on Reduction or Elimination of Tolls on Great Lakes and Saint
Lawrence Seaway
Pub. L. 99-662, title XIV, Sec. 1406, Nov. 17, 1986, 100 Stat. 4272,
provided that: ``Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of
this Act [Nov. 17, 1986], the Secretary of State, in consultation with
the Secretary of Transportation, shall initiate discussions with the
Government of Canada with the objective of reducing or eliminating all
tolls on the international Great Lakes and the Saint Lawrence Seaway,
and the Secretary of Transportation shall report to the Congress on the
progress of such discussions and on the economic effects upon waterborne
commerce in the United States of any proposed reduction or elimination
in tolls.''
Section Referred to in Other Sections
This section is referred to in section 988a of this title.
