The Upper Mississippi River Basin Association (UMRBA) held its Navigation Summit on July 9-10, 2014 in St. Louis, Missouri. MAFC program manager Ernie Perry facilitated this two-day event, which included one day of open sessions and a second day of closed sessions for state agencies. The first day included four speaker panels and the second day focused on state transportation and economic development perspectives on marine freight development and policy. Summit attendees included MAFC state DOT technical representatives, planning agency leads, and state departments of natural resources, commerce, and agriculture.
“Given the importance of freight and the emphasis on marine freight with marine highways, the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA), and state efforts to reinvigorate the ports and waterways, they have worked to include DOTs in the policy discussions on this important natural and transportation resource,” said Perry. “Departments of commerce and economic development  were also included to link the economic development role  of ports with the policy discussion and provide a full array of agency representatives.”
A summary of the Navigation Summit proceedings is forthcoming from the UMRBA. More photos are available in the photo gallery.

About the UMRBA

The Upper Mississippi River Basin Association (UMRBA) is a regional interstate organization formed by the Governors of Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, and Wisconsin to coordinate the states’ river-related programs and policies and work with federal agencies that have river responsibilities.  UMRBA is involved with programs related to commercial navigation, ecosystem restoration, water quality, aquatic nuisance species, hazardous spills, flood risk management, water supply, and other water resource issues.