ERMUSR MISC. ISSUES 01-13-2004 - Laserfiche WebLink

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sa& Ports are in danger of becoming choke points in the trade boom. AIRPORTS Since 1970, annual tonnage moving through seaports has doubled to 1.3 billion. But facility improvements haven't kept up with that pace. One reason: Spending on security is diverting expansion funds. Meeting new legal requirements will cost $6.6 billion over 10 years. Through 2010, port authorities need to invest $2.4 billion a year on expansion and upgrading to avoid shipping delays. By that time, twice the number of cargo containers will have to be loaded and unloaded. Plus a new class of cargo ship means new facilities must be built to handle the behemoths. One-third larger than today's biggest ships, they' ll be steaming into many of the nation's 80 ports within five years. Exlstfng airports are expanding, out no new ones are planned. Congress recently gave the OK to streamline regs for airport growth, and new or lengthened runways are planned for Boston, Atlanta, Cleveland, Cincinnati, St. Louis and Minneapolis-St. Paul at a cost of $3.6 billion. They'll rely largely on boosting efficiency to relieve crowding when air travel recovers from its Sept. 11 dip, setting new records. A 10-year push to modernize air traffic control will bear fruit with a new radar system allowing controllers to handle more traffic and improved access to weather data for more-efficient routing of planes. Regional airports will pick up some flights. Start-up airlines and low-cost carriers are going to increase routes to smaller markets. WATER Many areas face supply woes: Old, leaky systems in some cities. In coastal towns, saltwater intrusion. And in high-growth areas, simply too few nearby supplies. The result: More desalination plants, water-saving appliances and use of treated wastewater for irrigation. That plus tighter quality and security regs mean higher costs. Average water bills will climb by 2%-3%, more a year than inflation. Managing storm water surges carries billion-dollar price tags for several U.S. cities, including Atlanta, Cincinnati, Detroit and Portland, Ore. They need separate facilities for storm water runoff to prevent rainwater from overwhelming sewage treatment plants. ENERGY Power shortages sap $200 billion from the economy every year. Fixing the problem will cost $100 billion over the next decade, half of it to modernize the country's power transmission system. The other half is necessary to build plants and improve old ones. In addition, new natural gas pipelines are needed to move more volume. New energy legislation should help attract more investment. When it gets the nod, probably next year, new rules will make it easier to buy, sell and transmit electricity and harder to block construction of transmission lines. The legislation will also offer tax incentives for construction of pipelines and ease siting approval for a pipeline from Alaska to the lower 48 states. But projects are sure to take years, and businesses needing reliable supplies will require backup systems. Upgrading infrastructure will add 1X a year to utility bills. DAMS From now to 2015, about $10 billion will be needed for repairs to the nation's dams, an increasing number of which are in danger of collapsing. This year, scores were declared unsafe, and 21 failed. The funds aren't likely to be forthcoming, barring a calamity resulting in loss of life. Current spending can't keep up with problems. Your subscription now includes THE KIPLINGER LETTER online at no additional cost