40 coastal and inland States having access to water- 
borne transportation. 
The Office of Port and Intermodal Development 
also serves as a central Clearinghouse for domestic 
and foreign port data and develops and promulgates 
statistical and economic information relating to the 
U.S. port system. Under the Defense Production 
Act of 1950 and Executive Order 11490 this office 
is responsible for port mobilization planning to assure 
the effective use of port facilities in time of war or 
other national emergency. Finally, through its field 
activities, the Office of Port and Intermodal Develop- 
ment provides special technical assistance to the 
Economic Development Administration in evaluat- 
ing and planning EDA public works grants for port 
and harbor development, and to the National 
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration on port- 
related matters pertaining to NOAA’s coastal zone 
management program. 
Although a fairly small, low-key program, MarAd 
port activities provide all members of the U.S. port 
policy system with important information and plan- 
ning assistance that derive from a national marine 
transportation system perspective. As indicated pre- 
viously, critics have suggested that this larger view 
has been too often_absent in the evolution of the 
U.S. port system. 
The role of the/Department_of Transportation 
(DOT) in the Federal port policy system is of rela- 
tively recent origin and is still evolving in many re- 
spects. Although the Coast Guard within DOT plays 
a major role in the areas of marine navigation, safety, 
and pollution abatement, the Department itself has, 
since its establishment in 1967, been only peripher- 
ally involved in water transportation policy. Under 
Section 7(a) of the Department of Transportation 
Act, DOT is specifically forbidden to undertake eco- 
nomic assessments of proposals for Federal funding 
of water resource projects and, in general, DOT has 
maintained a relatively low profile in the entire 
water transport area. Nonetheless, in light of its 
broad mandate to encourage an efficient national 
multimodal transportation system, some water trans- 
ation involvement has been inevitable and, in 
certain areas, a major DOT role may now be 
emerging. 
At the broadest policy level, DOT has recently 
assumed a leadership role in attempting to analyze 
comprehensively the total U.S. transportation system 
and to establish national transportation policies 
based on a systematic consideration of total trans- 
portation requirements and the ability of each of the 
various transportation modes to fulfill these require- 
ments. In September 1975, the Department issued 
A Statement of National Transportation Policy, 
which represented a first attempt to “. . . set forth 
the broad policy considerations that should underlic 
the Federal Government's response to the Nation’s 
V-8 
transportation needs.” 1° [Emphasis added.] In that 
document full consideration was given to both 
domestic and international water transportation as 
major components of the total U.S. transportation 
system. 
In January 1977, the Department released a com- 
prehensive assessment_of the entire U_S.foreign_and 
domestic transportation system, projecting system 
development to the year 2000 under existing pol- 
icies.‘° The objective of the study was to provide an 
inventory of transportation resources and to focus 
attention on the current direction of transportation 
development. The study was an effort to identify 
areas where it might be necessary or desirable to 
adopt alternative Federal policies which would yield 
a better transportation system in the years ahead. 
Again, in this effort full consideration was given to 
water transportation and it was again emphasized, 
as it was in the policy statement, that, although 
major elements of the Federal water transportation 
policy system lie outside DOT, it is imperative that 
port and waterway policies be consistent with overall 
national transportation policies.’ The fragmented 
character of Federal port policy was specifically 
addressed, and support was indicated for a compre- 
hensive national port study to be jointly supported 
by the Maritime Administration, the Corps of Engi- 
neers, and the Department of Transportation.*® 
This broad national transportation policy perspec- 
tive has also provided the vehi jor DOT 
role in recent considerations of the issue of waterway 
user charges. The imposition of such user charges 
has, for many years, been urged by water-competi- 
tive modes which are prominent DOT constituents. 
These interests have long felt that water transporta- 
tion enjoys an undue competitive advantage over 
competing modes because of the free use of Govern- 
ment-built and maintained waterway facilities. In 
addition, the growing cost of Federal waterway 
projects has increased pressure within the Govern- 
ment to impose some form of user charge to help 
defray these expenses. 
In general, DOT has been a proponent of the 
concept of waterway user charges and, for that 
matter, a proponent of user charges for many Fed- 
erally-provided transportation services and facilities. 
The Department has, however, recognized that in 
some cases it may be desirable, in support of other 
national objectives, to provide certain transportation 
services and facilities free or below cost. The De- 
15 U.S, Department of Transportation, Office of the Secretary. 
A Statement of National Transportation Policy. Washington, 
D.C., Government Printing Office, September 17, 1975, p. i. 
16 U.S, Department of Transportation, Office of the Secretary. 
National Transportation Trends and Choices. Washington, D.C., 
Government Printing Office, January 12, 1977. 
17 Ibid., p. 285, 
18 Tbid., p. 283. 
