The Waterways Advisory Committee of the Huntington District was formed 24 years ago to deal with a major bottleneck to commerce at the time...Industry and the Corps established a self-help program to assist each other through the lock.

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The so-called ANavigation Work Group, as it is most often referred to, was formed by the Coast Guard in 1996. It came into being as a rather narrowly focused Natural Work Group designed to document the many lessons learned during major flooding of the region earlier that year.

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Ohio River Crisis Action Plan...now incorporates the response activities of industry, Coast Guard and ACOE actions during flood events and low water conditions.

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The effort to capture the years of experience represented with the NWG led to a discussion of a growing trend in the towing industry - less experienced operators. The only means available to operators to become more knowledgeable is on-the-job training

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The river industry has long felt it has not been represented when it came to the regulatory process.
    It has, in the past, been kind of a silent majority - one consisting of prudent operators who have to live and abide by rules and regulations imposed by the Federal Government.

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The amount of water being released by flood-control and hydroelectric projects are important considerations as are the amounts of precipitation entering the river and the gradient of the terrain.

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Two such flourishing partnerships between government and industry are the Cooperative Towing Inspection Program and the need to identify VHF radio interference areas.

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By Captain David Reed
Port Captain Crounse Corporation

An overview:

   The Huntington Port for its size is one of the busiest areas on the inland waterways. It consists of only 14 miles of the Ohio River and generates near 28 million tons of commerce a year. Additional tonnage in excess of 22 million tons from only 8 miles of the Big Sandy River also adds to the large volume of commerce in the port.
   The Kanawha River, which is just 30 miles north of the Huntington Port - extending into the heart of West Virginia’s coal and chemical regions - and still in the jurisdiction of the Huntington District Coast Guard and Army Corps of Engineers, generates over 25 million tons of commerce a year. Something was needed what with the region’s tonnage exceeding 60 million tons of commerce a year. And that something was cooperation - cooperation between industry and government.
    The Waterways Advisory Committee of the Huntington District was formed 24 years ago to deal with a major bottleneck to commerce at the time. Industry worked with the ACOE to find a way to expedite traffic through an antiquated lock. Industry and the Corps established a self-help program to assist each other through the lock. About the same time the Gallipolis Lock and Dam project was just getting off the ground, and the ACOE asked industry for input into the design.
    From those humble beginnings in the 70's, the group has advised the district on countless projects. We have since changed our name to The Huntington District Waterways Association and combined five smaller groups (The Waterways Advisory Committee of the Huntington District, the Navigational Subcommittee, the Big Sandy Improvement Committee, The Tri-State Fleeting Association, and The Kanawha River Improvement Committee) into one large group. We now operate under a state charter from West Virginia as a non-profit Association. We operate under direction from a board of directors, which represent a cross section of our membership. We now hold monthly informational meetings for our membership. At these meetings the membership gets a summary on committee activities, along with briefings from the Coast Guard and ACOE and comments from guest speakers.
    Here is some of the Associations past accomplishments.

    River pilots in the MSO Huntington zone of the Central Ohio River Valley now have a dynamic and influential forum to discuss regulatory and navigational issues, which directly affect them. This group is the Navigational Subcommittee to the larger organization - The Waterways Advisory Committee of the Huntington District. The so-called ANavigation Work Group, as it is most often referred to, was formed by the Coast Guard in 1996. It came into being as a rather narrowly focused Natural Work Group designed to document the many lessons learned during major flooding of the region earlier that year.
    The NWG membership (led by the MSO Huntington executive officer, a licensed officer himself) was purposely limited to experienced industry captains and pilots. The reason for this was simple: It only made sense to have those who were actually on the river during the flood - those who could recount their success first-hand. In addition, the Coast Guard felt the NWG could set a standard for care for high water navigation using those most qualified and capable of helping to form those same standards. By the time the group had met a second time, it was apparent to everyone there was a tremendous untapped opportunity to improve communication and safety within the towing group. That was due, in large measure, by the collective experience of members as well as the propensity of pilots to sincerely speak their minds.
    Soon, many navigational related issues were put on the agenda and the group was placed under the industry’s larger Waterways Advisory Committee. The popularity of this forum has spread throughout other zones in the Ohio River system, and new groups have been formed. In the end, what started as a rather limited idea has grown to a most effective Ohio River Valley partnership, one incorporating the marine community from Pittsburgh to Paducah.

    During the major flood of the Ohio River System in January of 1996, the Huntington Zone was fortunate to avoid any significant vessel casualties (barge break away, sinking or allisions with bridges or locks and dams.)
    This was directly attributable to two things: (1) The vigilance and skill of industry personnel and (2) Coast Guard’s ability to open and maintain regular lines of communication for purpose of information and problem resolution. What have we learned? A great deal.

    For Example:
    The NWG original objective, to validate lessons learned, has been realized with the completion of the Ohio River Crisis Action Plan. This plan, not unlike a similar plan for federal authorities and the towing industry used on the Mississippi corridor, is tailored to the geography and unique characteristics of the Ohio River basin. This plan now incorporates the response activities of industry, Coast Guard and ACOE actions during flood events and low water conditions. In addition, the plan, originally intended to cover just the Huntington zone, now represents not only Huntington but the Pittsburgh, Louisville and Paducah zones as well.

    The plan features several benefits.

    The Coast Guard: Knowing more about the proactive actions of the towing industry during high water alleviates uncertainty. It also reduces the likelihood it would impose less than realistic or necessary restrictions on traffic because of unfamiliarity with the river. Industry agrees the plan would be useful to setting and maintaining a standard of care as well as developing the professionalism of new vessel operators. These pilots are often required to navigate portions of the river on which they have little experience or have never transited under extreme conditions. For the benefit of all, the plan also established an integrated notification system to provide the quickest heads up on rapidly rising water. In developing the plan, captains and pilots shared their experience and compiled a list of precautions they consider during high water; the navigation parameters of bridges and the many ACOE locks also included defacto limits to vessel operation; industry also agreed to provide a representative in the Coast Guard Command Post to track traffic and assist in the evaluation of vessel intentions. Put together (identifying who is operating and applying navigational considerations to the intended voyage), it is believed the Coast Guard will be able to focus its attention on marginal operations instead of invoking system-wide river closures. The latter hurts those companies operating responsibly.

    The effort to capture the years of experience represented with the NWG led to a discussion of a growing trend in the towing industry - less experienced operators. The only means available to operators to become more knowledgeable is on-the-job training. This initially is provided by more experienced captains on their vessels, and then through ones own experience on the river.
    The availability of a more ready and direct source of information does not exist on the river.
     The charts produced by the ACOE do not contain the types of depth or navigational hazard information normally included on coastal charts. Moreover, there is no written Coastal Pilot or similar book to become familiar with local knowledge-types of information. The Navigational Subcommittee decided local knowledge-types of information could be included in chart books. Several of the more senior and experienced members of the group met and produced a list of cautionary notes for inclusion in the next annual printing. This really priceless information will now be available to the new pilot, or the experienced one for that matter, who operates infrequently on the Ohio River. It is hoped this will reduce vessel casualties. After a long debate over possible legal ramifications it was agreed these changes could be made.
    Yet another aspect of input to river charting were comments coordinated on the ACOE's project to convert the current chart formats to one more closely resembling that on coastal charts. Many in the group were opposed to this idea because of familiarity gained by years of use with the existing format. Here, the group was successful in providing feedback to the ACOE to better account for the unique navigational characteristics of the river. Improvements were made to the depiction of docks, day boards, and general navigational characteristics. The group also asked for several alternate channel lines to be put back on the charts.
    Finally, the Group Commander, from Group Ohio Valley, discussed discrepancies to aids to navigation. The pilots gave the Commander and his cutter officers valuable information on aids to navigation and buoy placement. Members from the group along with other organizations participated in qualifying all the aids throughout the entire river system.

The river industry has long felt it has not been represented when it came to the regulatory process.
    It has, in the past, been kind of a silent majority - one consisting of prudent operators who have to live and abide by rules and regulations imposed by the Federal Government. Normal Coast Guard avenues of communication about new regulations frequently do not reach the deck-plate level until it’s to late. Thus, pilots feel imposed upon without any say in the outcome. A number of rulemakings, particularly over the past few years, have been directed at improving the qualifications of pilots and the addition of equipment on towboats to ensure safe operation. Vessel operators - by the very nature of their job - are removed from the front office and :out of the loop@ when these rules are being developed, published and discussed. The NWG has been a forum for active pilots to learn and discuss some of the more recent proposals. For example, in late 1996, the comment period for the proposed towing license and manning regulation was quickly drawing to a close without much Adeck-plate@ scrutiny. When local pilots learned of the proposal the comment period was near the end. They voiced great concern that the proposal was ill advised on several points. The NWG quickly disseminated information to local towboat pilots. Well-attended public discussions with Coast Guard officials and the regulation’s project officer from Coast Guard Headquarters were sought and held in Pittsburgh, Charleston and Cincinnati.
    The NWG - along with many pilots elsewhere - sought significant changes in the regulation and made a strong case for an extension of the comment period. The result was that some of the more onerous provisions of the proposal were dropped. But just as important, this Asilent majority@ knew they had been heard.
    Another such endeavor at the time was the airing of the pending Tankerman (PIC) regulations. This regulation will have a drastic impact on most towing vessels because so many take fuel while underway, a practice known as Amid-streaming@. The NWG turned to the local MSO for help. A Regional Examination Center chief traveled to Huntington to present and explain the implications of the new regulation. Local mariners had a chance to ask questions and get answers first-hand, instead of the more typical and less reliable river rumor mill.

    Barge break-away, floundering and allisions with bridges and dams are always a concern during high water conditions.
    One perennial question heard during flood conditions is the horsepower-to-barge ratio: specifically, would the Coast Guard impose a minimum horsepower standard? And if so, under what conditions would they be implemented? Such a standard has been implemented elsewhere on the river system. The Coast Guard, committed to intelligent decision-making, needed more facts. One pilot’s excellent presentation on the subject demonstrated the complexity of safe operation during high water, only one factor of which is the horsepower-to-barge ratio.
    Just as Coast Guard river closures may not be necessary during high water because of navigation limitations (insufficient bridge clearance or lock closure). Neither is the horsepower ratio quick fix to lowing port safety risks. The more important question is how and when to turn on and off such restrictions (trip wires set on river stages, dam opening, current velocity or flood stages)? Currents can vary greatly at certain river stages depending on whether the river is rising, falling or at stationary high. The amount of water being released by flood-control and hydroelectric projects are important considerations as are the amounts of precipitation entering the river and the gradient of the terrain. Barges also vary considerably in capacity from 1500 to 2100 tons of cargo. They vary in draft from 9ft. to 14 ft. Also, at what point should an appropriately powered towboat cut back on the throttles?
    By comparison, Mississippi River flood and low water conditions are considerably different in many ways than those on the Ohio River; therefore they need not look the same. Though the issue is yet to be fully resolved, there was a preliminary consensus that through communications between authorities and operators - long a mainstay in this area - and responsible tow draft management were better alternatives to simple horsepower restrictions.

    The group also has dealt with bank erosion, fleet permits and tugs and tow noise in the Pine Creek area of the Ohio River. Concerned citizens from Wheelersburg, Ohio, discussed these things with congressional lawmakers, the U.S. Coast Guard and the Army Corps of Engineers. This area also included the northbound waiting area for Greenup Lock and Dam. The group addressed concerns for queue locations below Greenup Locks and Dam. One recommendation was to dredge below the lock on the left descending bank and install mooring cells. Dredge spoils were suggested to retard the right descending bank erosion. Captains and pilots had a chance to express their feeling about the problem, and also had a voice in the solution. Their comments were incorporated into the Ohio River Main Stem Study for additional cell placement below existing locks.

    Input into bridge pier placement and bridge locations was yet another topic for the group. The Coast Guard Bridge Administration had asked for input for the Pomeroy-Mason Bridge, the Portsmouth Ohio Bridge, the Ironton Ohio Bridge, as well as pier placement on the Buffalo, West Virginia, bridge. The administrator has made personal trips to attend our meetings in order to hear comments first hand. He answered many questions mariners had pertaining to bridge placement and height of the structure. The group helped the Bridge Branch understand problems they had transiting a bridge or its pier placement. They also received comments about transiting the area during construction. This allowed them to put limited restrictions on the contractor without compromising safety.

    The scrutiny propelling change is taking place both internally in the industry itself and externally, primarily in the government. Both industry and government have come together in a unique partnership to develop and implement solutions to help ensure continued safety in the nations barge and towing industry.
    Two such flourishing partnerships between government and industry are the Cooperative Towing Inspection Program and the need to identify VHF radio interference areas.
    A spokesman for the U.S. Coast Guard said the program was designed to reduce the number of boarding’s by the Coast Guard and promote safety on the rivers. The industry is assured that participating vessels are fully compliant with federal safety regulations. The NWG was used to advertise the new initiative. Though there were many questions at first, it was explained how the program would work, and an inspection list was given out. The Coast Guard put to rest most of the concerns about boarding’s. It answered all the Awho’s, what’s and if’s@ pertaining to the program. In addition, the forum made for a smooth entrance into the program and reduced the fears of the mariner.
    The Coast Guard enlisted help from the pilots in helping to identify VHF radio interference and Adead@ areas. We worked with a member of the Coast Guard Auxiliary and a radio specialist. Several areas were identified at the time of the meeting, and additional areas were reported by written form. Several places identified were in critical navigational areas.

    Out of all our successes, the best thing that comes from our group is the developing respect between the U.S. Coast Guard, Army Corps of Engineers and the mariners. This success can be measured by the willingness of the mariners to share knowledge and the enthusiasm of the government to develop partnerships with industry for the promotion of safety and the facilitation of commerce. The common goal we are striving for is a better-regulated industry that is safer and more efficient. This goal addresses the concerns of the mariner and meets the needs of government. As barriers come down between industry and government, we need to...

          Identify problems

          Develop and implement solutions in a cooperative manner.

          Recognize operational diversity (keeping in mind that a blanket solution               approach will never be fully effective).

    It is hoped this partnership will work and let the barge and towing industry become safer - and still remain efficient and productive.