Mississippi water levels again a problem

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May 01, 2023 View in browser   By Kayla Guo With help from Alex Daugherty and Tanya Snyder Quick Fix — Flooding is shutting down barge traffic across the Upper Mississippi — an extreme weather flip from the drought that grounded freight in the fall. — DOT’s Office of Inspector General found the FAA may not be able to ensure consistency in its risk assessment practices, and issued the agency seven recommendations related to the Boeing 737 MAX crashes. — A likely candidate for inclusion in the FAA reauthorization: expanding financing options for aspiring pilots. IT’S MONDAY: You’re reading Morning Transportation, your Washington policy guide to everything that moves. I’m your host, Kayla Guo. Send tips, thoughts, song lyrics and recipes you like to kguo@politico.com. Find us on Twitter @kaylaguo_, @alextdaugherty and @TSnyderDC. “Now you say you're sorry / For bein' so untrue / Well, you can cry me a river, cry me a river / I cried a river over you” Driving the Day OPPOSITE OF A DROUGHT: Extreme weather is again causing problems on the Mississippi River — this time, flooding expected this spring is likely to bring the river to its highest level in over 20 years, according to the National Weather Service — a see-saw from the drought in the fall, which dried up portions of the river and required constant dredging to keep freight moving. — This time around, record winter snowfall coupled with “rapid” warming has led to torrential melting and flooding down the Mississippi, according to the NWS. For the next three weeks, USDA said, all barge traffic across part of the Upper Mississippi has stopped due to flooding. And USDA also predicts that around the end of this week, locks and dams as far south as Saverton, Missouri (around the Mississippi River’s midpoint) could be forced to shut down until mid-May due to high water. No freight is being accepted along the Twin Cities and mid-Mississippi sections of the river. — The NWS predicts that most sites on the river will have a high chance of flooding this spring that’ll register among the top five floods on record. The lock and dam closures caused by flooding, in addition to slower grain sales, has depressed barge freight rates, according to USDA, which may prompt some companies to drop the number of barges they maintain in service. It’s not a busy export season for the U.S., but the closures also pose a logistical challenge for shippers with north-bound shipments that will have to be diverted to train or rail.   GET READY FOR GLOBAL TECH DAY: Join POLITICO Live as we launch our first Global Tech Day alongside London Tech Week on Thursday, June 15. Register now for continuing updates and to be a part of this momentous and program-packed day! From the blockchain, to AI, and autonomous vehicles, technology is changing how power is exercised around the world, so who will write the rules? REGSITER HERE.     Want to receive this newsletter every weekday? Subscribe to POLITICO Pro. You’ll also receive daily policy news and other intelligence you need to act on the day’s biggest stories. Aviation NEW REPORT: DOT's Inspector General issued seven recommendations to FAA in response to its risk assessment practices following the Boeing 737 MAX crashes. The report, the third in a series requested by former DOT Secretary Elaine Chao, found that FAA may not be able to ensure consistency in its risk assessment practices. The IG issued seven recommendations to FAA and FAA responded that they will complete all seven recommendations by March 2025. PAY THE PILOTS: Lawmakers in both parties and both chambers have agreed in recent weeks that there’s a lack of suitable financing options for aspiring pilots. Now, both chambers have bills that would raise maximum federal student loan limits for aspiring pilots at flight schools where 70 percent of students finish and create new scholarships with a federal match. The House and Senate introduced identical proposals last week. — The legislation has the support of Airlines for America, the Regional Airline Association, National Air Carrier Association and pilot unions. This issue appears likely to end up in the FAA bill given the widespread buy-in from the aviation industry and lawmakers (the House version’s cosponsor list includes Aviation Subcommittee Ranking Member Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.)). AIRLINE-DRIVEN DELAYS: A new Government Accountability Office report showed that flight cancellation rates in the second half of 2021 outpaced 2018 and 2019 despite 14 percent fewer flights, and that the leading cause of delays were aircraft maintenance or lack of crew. The report comes as airlines and DOT continue to tussle over the prospect of summer delays, with airlines arguing that the FAA hasn’t staffed up air traffic control towers sufficiently and DOT asserting that it will keep a close watch on the airlines’ performance. UNITED OPPOSITION: It’s expected, but United Airlines confirmed that it opposes efforts from a new coalition that includes Delta Air Lines to increase the number of long-haul flights out of Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport as part of this year’s FAA bill. United, which operates the vast majority of flights out of Dulles International Airport, on Friday said it agrees with a recent letter from Virginia Sens. Mark Warner and Tim Kaine opposing changes to long-haul flight restrictions out of Reagan National. NOISE ON NOISE: The FAA is seeking public comment on its Noise Policy Review, which lays out how the agency analyzes and presents changes in exposure to aviation noise, including from planes, helicopters, commerce space vehicles, drones and emerging tech. Trucking CALI TRUCKS TO ZERO EMISSIONS: The California Air Resources Board approved regulations known as Advanced Clean Fleets Friday that would require medium- and heavy-duty trucks to phase out combustion engines and transition from fossil fuels between 2035 and 2042. The requirements to replace old vehicles with zero-emission alternatives would kick in starting January 2024, pending federal approval and anticipated legal challenges. — The trucking industry blasted the move, saying the transition will be expensive, difficult and dependent on some factors outside the control of fleet operators. American Trucking Associations President and CEO Chris Spear said in a Friday statement that zero-emissions trucks are “significantly more expensive, charging and refueling infrastructure is nonexistent, and ZEVs are not necessarily a one-for-one replacement — meaning more trucks will be needed on California roads to move the same amount of freight.” He added that the regulations set “unrealistic targets and unachievable timelines that will undoubtedly lead to higher prices.” Automobiles BMW PLUG-IN HYBRID QUALIFIES FOR HALF TAX CREDIT: BMW has certified that its model year 2024 X5 xDrive 50 meets the critical minerals requirement of for the EV tax credit (but not the battery components requirement) and is therefore eligible for half, or a $3,750 incentive. The full list is available at fueleconomy.gov. Transportation LOOKING ELSEWHERE: In yet another sign of how Elon Musk is transforming Twitter, New York’s Metropolitan Transit Authority ended real-time service alerts on the site for its subway, train and bus systems last week, saying, “Twitter is no longer reliable for providing the consistent updates riders expect.” Fortune reported that Twitter would have required MTA to pay $50,000 a month to maintain access to a previously-free tool that enabled real-time updates. Air France also ended its direct customer service on Twitter, citing the platform’s changed conditions. The Autobahn — ”High Flyers 2023: How the ultra-rich private jet travel costs the rest of us and burns up our planet." Institute for Policy Studies and Patriotic Millionaires. — "United Airlines’ plan to revamp narrow-body cabins faces supply chain delays.” CNBC. — “Most infrastructure projects are late, over budget. He hopes to fix that.” Washington Post. — “How states can curb EV charging rates.” Boston Globe.   DON’T MISS THE POLITICO ENERGY SUMMIT: A new world energy order is emerging and America’s place in it is at a critical juncture. Join POLITICO on Thursday, May 18 for our first-ever energy summit to explore how the U.S. is positioning itself in a complicated energy future. We’ll explore progress on infrastructure and climate funding dedicated to building a renewable energy economy, Biden’s environmental justice proposals, and so much more. REGISTER HERE.       Follow us on Twitter Kathryn Wolfe @kathrynwolfe Alex Daugherty @alextdaugherty Oriana Pawlyk @Oriana0214 Tanya Snyder @tsnyderdc   Follow us

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