The scaling back of federal oversight is "recognizing and respecting the primary authority of states and tribes" over the waterways, R.D. James, assistant secretary of the Army for civil works, said during a ceremony at EPA headquarters.
The bill authorizes $10.6 billion for the Coast Guard in fiscal year 2019, a roughly 16 percent increase from 2017 that would help modernize its aging fleet of cutters and aircraft. The Coast Guard is the primary federal authority for maritime safety and security on the U.S. coast and in ports and inland waterways.
:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/archetype/F7MBFJJZ5VCPPCM3I47O4Y5JLY.jpg)
:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/archetype/KBGABUICDBD55CIWBDMMKOSEXU.jpg)