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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 17 / Thursday, January 28, 2021 / Notices
begin to levy port or harbor dues pursuant to 33 U.S.C. 2236. 33 U.S.C.
2236a5A requires that SNND, as the non-federal sponsor, transmit to the Secretary of the Army for public notice the proposed ordinance before the initial levy of port or harbor dues. A
previous notice was published on June 23, 2020 85 FR 37634 with a draft user fee ordinance for public comment on which several comments were received.
The comments resulted in the SNND
modifying the proposed levy of port or harbor dues. The revised proposed levy is stated below for public comment.
Proposed Ordinance Sabine Neches Navigtion District User Fee Ordinance. An Ordinance Setting Out the Need for and Levying of a User Service Fee on Vessels and Owners of Cargo, Placing Responsibility for Providing Required Documentation and Providing Penalties Whereas the Sabine Neches Navigation District Navigation District is the designated non-federal sponsor sponsor for the Sabine Neches Waterway Channel Improvement Project for the Sabine Neches Waterway authorized in the Water Resources Reform and Development Act of 2014 Project;
and Whereas the Texas Legislature implemented Senate Bill 1137
authorizing the Navigation District to serve as the sponsor for the Project and perform all necessary duties as the sponsor to satisfy its obligations as the local sponsor; and Whereas the Project is projected to generate an additional $57 billion in gross product and 465,000 US jobs; and Whereas the Navigation District will be responsible for funding its required cost share of the total Project as set out in the Project Partnership Agreement between the United States Army Corps of Engineers and the Navigation District, including payment of the Navigation Districts 40 percent share of the construction cost; and Whereas 33 U.S.C. 2236 authorizes a non-federal interest to levy port or harbor dues on vessels and the owner of the cargo in the form of tonnage duties or fees in conjunction with a port or harbor navigation project whose usable increment of the project is complete to finance the cost, construction or maintenance of the Project; and Whereas the first usable increment of the Project, a new anchorage basin, located on the Neches River and referenced in section VI page 16 of the March 11, 2011, Final Feasibility has been completed and benefits all vessels whose design draft exceed 20 feet; and
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Whereas the levy of port or harbor dues authorized by 33 U.S.C. 2236 may be applied to all vessels comparable in size to those vessels used to justify the completed construction of a usable increment of the Project; and Whereas the Board of Commissioners of the Navigation District has considered matters such as elapsed time of passage, safety of passengers and cargo, vessel economy of scale, under keel clearance, vessel draft, vessel squat, speed, sinkage and the cost of construction, operations, the value of the services of the vessel and cargo; and Whereas all vessels comparable in size to those vessels used to justify the completed construction of the useable increment anchorage basin benefit from the anchorage basin as a usable increment of the Project, a User Fee as set out below reflects the benefits provided by the Project to vessels whose design draft exceeds 20 feet.
Now Be It Ordained by the Navigation and Canal Commissioners of the Sabine Neches Navigation District Authority and Jurisdiction The geographical boundaries of the Navigation District include an area that is co-extensive with Jefferson County, Texas, and the Navigation District exercises jurisdiction over the adjacent waterways, the nonpublic terminals and all vessels using the Sabine Neches Waterway Channel Waterway.
The Navigation District has the power and authority to regulate and fix charges for the use of the Waterway. The Navigation District is authorized to make and enforce rules and regulations to facilitate navigation and commerce, to every User. All vessels whose design draft exceeds 20 feet using the Waterway shall conform to this User Fee Ordinance Ordinance, which establishes a user fee for the financing of the improvement Project User Fee. All Users of the Waterway, by their use, consent to be bound by this Ordinance including these rules and regulations as they exist or may be amended from time to time.
The Board of Commissioners of the Sabine Neches Navigation District is authorized by Article 16, Section 59, of the Constitution of the State of Texas, Chapter 60 of the Texas Water Code, and the Acts of the 83rd Legislature Regular Session HB 1137 to act as the local sponsor for the Project.
Refusal or failure to comply with these rules and regulations may result in any action deemed appropriate or advisable by the Navigation District in consultation with the United States Coast Guard Captain of the Port of Port
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Arthur and other relevant authorities, if any. The Navigation District may employ all legal means within its power to impose penalties and collect fees including the use and recovery of liens as permitted by 33 U.S.C. 2236.
General Application The use of the Sabine Neches Waterway constitutes an acceptance by the User of all charges, rules, and regulations published in this Ordinance.
The charges, rules, and regulations published in this Ordinance apply on all cargo moving to and from terminals on the Waterway in vessels with a design draft exceeding 20 feet and shall apply to cargos transferred at all facilities and terminals on the Waterway.
Waterway User Fee A User Fee will be assessed against vessels whose design draft exceeds 20
feet and owners of all cargos transiting on vessels whose design draft exceeds 20 feet and loading or discharging at terminals or facilities on the Sabine Neches Waterway, beginning on a date 15 calendar days after final approval of this Ordinance by the Board of Commissioners of the Navigation District. The purpose of the User Fee is to finance construction costs associated with the Project. Although the User Fee is assessed against both subject vessels carrying the cargo and the owner of the cargo carried by subject vessels, the User Fee will be collected only once on each cargo loaded or unloaded onto a subject vessel but may be collected from either the subject vessel or the cargo owner. To avoid any confusion, subject vessel means a vessel whose design draft exceeds 20 feet.
The User Fee authorized by this resolution does not apply to i vessels owned, chartered, or operated by the United States Government, a foreign country, a state, or a political subdivision of a country or State, unless engaged in commercial services; ii vessels engaged in towing, dredging or channel maintenance activities, iii vessels engaged in intra-port movements; or iv vessels with design drafts of 20 feet or less.
For purposes of this Ordinance, hydrocarbon means oil, gas, ethanol, methanol, a commodity or thing made or manufactured-in whole or part-from oil or gas, and derivatives or byproducts or fractions of oil or gas all regardless of their physical form and including mixtures of any or all of the above.
The User Fee authorized by this ordinance will expire on January 1, 2049, or upon final payment of all
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