,,ii  #aahth ,,congress  #b;d ,session  
,s4 #chdf  ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of     
,,the ,,united ,,states  ,february #bi1 
#bjbd,mr4 ,casey 7for himself and ,mr4  
,fetterman7 introduced the following    
bill2 which was read twice and referred 
to the ,committee on ,environment and   
,public ,works  ,a ,,bill  ,to establish
 a task force on waterway freight       
diversification and economic development
 in the ,ohio1 ,allegheny1 and          
,monongahela ,river corridors1 and for  
other purposes4  #a4 ,short title ,this 
,act may be cited as the ,waterway      
,activation that ,targets ,economic     
,revitalization1 ,welcomes ,activity1   
and ,yields ,success ,act or the        
,,waterways ,act4  #b4 ,findings        
,congress finds that-- 7#a7 inland      
waterways provide a valuable resource   
for moving agricultural1 energy1 and    
other commodities to market in the      
,united ,states2  7#b7 further          
utilization of the waterways would      
benefit the ,united ,states because     

barges are among the safest and most    
environmentally responsible ways to     
transport freight1 with barge transport 
being more fuel efficient and having    
lower emissions than other methods1     
while also resulting in fewer injuries  
per worker than rail or truck transport2
  7#c7 given existing issues with supply
 chains1 it is critical that the        
,federal ,government work to expand and 
promote inland waterway access1         
especially in regions that are coal     
communities or have suffered from       
deindustrialization2 and  7#d7 it is of 
critical importance that the investments
 made possible by the ,infrastructure   
,investment and ,jobs ,act 7,public ,law
 #aag-eh2 #ace ,stat4 #dbi71 ,public    
,law #aag-afi 7commonly known as the    
,inflation ,reduction ,act of #bjbb7    
7#acf ,stat4 #ahah71 and other recent   
legislation1 such as ,public ,law       
#aag-afg 7commonly known as the ,,chips 
and ,science ,act of #bjbb7 7#acf ,stat4
 #acff71 are made with an eye toward    

utilizing the inland waterways network  
to maximize the impact of those         
investments4  #c4 ,task force on        
waterway freight diversification and    
economic development  7a7 ,definitions  
,in this section3 7#a7 ,covered ,state  
,the term covered ,state means each of  
the ,states of ,pennsylvania1 ,west     
,virginia1 ,indiana1 ,illinois1         
,kentucky1 ,ohio1 and ,tennessee4  7#b7 
,interagency ,working ,group ,the term  
,interagency ,working ,group means the  
,interagency ,working ,group on ,coal   
and ,power ,plant ,communities and      
,economic ,revitalization established by
 section #bah of ,executive ,order      
#adjjh 7#hf ,fed4 ,reg4 #gfbh2 relating 
to ,tackling the ,climate ,crisis at    
,home and ,abroad74  7#c7 ,task force   
,the term task force means the task     
force established under subsection 7b74 
7b7 ,establishment ,the ,interagency    
,working ,group shall establish a task  
force on waterway freight               
diversification and economic development

 in the ,ohio1 ,allegheny1 and          
,monongahela ,river corridors4  7c7     
,membership  7#a7 ,in general ,the task 
force shall be composed of-- 7,a7 from  
the ,federal ,government1               
representatives of-- 7i7 the ,department
 of ,transportation2  7ii7 the ,corps of
 ,engineers2  7iii7 the ,department of  
,energy2  7iv7 the ,department of       
,commerce2  7v7 the ,department of      
,agriculture2  7vi7 the ,economic       
,development ,administration2  7vii7 the
 ,maritime ,administration2  7viii7 the 
,department of ,labor2  7ix7 the        
,appalachian ,regional ,commission2  7x7
 the ,coast ,guard2  7xi7 the           
,environmental ,protection ,agency2     
7xii7 the ,department of the ,interior2 
and  7xiii7 any other ,federal agency or
 department the ,co-,chairs of the      
,interagency ,working ,group determine  
to be appropriate2  7,b7 at the         
discretion of a covered ,state1         
representatives of relevant agencies of 
the covered ,state2 and  7,c7 local     

stakeholders involved in economic       
development1 transportation1 community  
development1 and water resource         
development and conservation along the  
,ohio1 ,allegheny1 and ,monongahela     
,river corridors1 such as metropolitan  
and rural planning organizations1       
economic development districts1 units of
 local government1 and community-based  
organizations4  7#b7 ,appointment ,the  
,co-,chairs of the ,interagency ,working
 ,group shall appoint the members of the
 task force under paragraph 7#a74  7d7  
,duties ,the task force shall-- 7#a7    
convene on an ad hoc basis to study1 and
 develop recommendations to improve1    
waterway freight use and economic       
development in the ,ohio1 ,allegheny1   
and ,monongahela ,river corridors2  7#b7
 facilitate investment in the ,ohio1    
,allegheny1 and ,monongahela ,river     
corridors by identifying critical       
projects and connecting those projects  
with ,federal1 ,state1 and local funding
 opportunities2  7#c7 coordinate and    

activate stakeholders around waterway   
development2 and  7#d7 submit to the    
,interagency ,working ,group an annual  
report that describes-- 7,a7 the        
recommendations of the task force under 
paragraph 7#a7 and the progress in      
implementing those recommendations2 and 
7,b7 the activities of the task force   
under paragraphs 7#b7 and 7#c74  7e7    
,authorization of appropriations ,there 
is authorized to be appropriated to     
carry out this section #e1jjj1jjj for   
each of fiscal years #bjbd through      
#bjcd1 to remain available until        
expended4  #d4 ,savings provision       
,nothing in this ,act-- 7#a7 satisfies  
any requirement for                     
government-to-government consultation   
with an ,indian ,tribe2 or  7#b7 affects
 or modifies a treaty or any other right
 of an ,indian ,tribe4