![]() ![]() It won’t be a huge problem in developed countries. “That means refineries will have to be configured to strip out excess sulfur. ![]() “Shippers will have to look at ways to source new fuel - most likely a cleaner type of distilled fuel oil,” Josh reports. The cap, an International Maritime Organization decision, will go into effect by 2020. SULFUR EMISSIONS CAP POSES CHALLENGE TO SHIPPING INDUSTRY: Facing a new cap on how much sulfur can be in fuel, the shipping industry is worried about the cost as it’s “already hammered by a drop in global demand and an oversupply of capacity,” POLITICO Europe’s Joshua Posaner reports. But, he asks: “How can the federal government appoint a control board over an agency that belongs to three other people?” Worth a discussion: Mort Downey, a former Democratic DOT official and Evans’ predecessor, said the control board concept should be “explored” given Metro’s dire state. Congress has sent $150 million a year to Metro since 2009 for capital improvements like new rail cars, but that funding stream only lasts through fiscal 2019 – provided lawmakers hold up their end of a 10-year promise they made to the agency. (Foxx has already indicated little patience for permanent oversight, and a DOT spokesman Wednesday declined to comment on the control board idea.) The Post editorial posits that a federal control board would come with federal dollars - at a price, of course, meaning major structural changes to Metro’s governance - but lawmakers can’t even agree to kick in for the system’s operating costs. Whither Congress? It seems highly unlikely that lawmakers would sanction a federal coup of Metro that would go well beyond the temporary safety oversight that FTA currently has. “I don’t see how federal governance, even if it were to exist, would be the panacea, the cure-all, for this,” she said. Unintended consequences: Even if a federal acquisition were feasible, Thomson said, it would “set a bad precedent” for states that may eventually find themselves in Metro’s situation. There is currently no legal provisions - statutory, regulatory, anything else - that would allow the federal government, at least from the DOT perspective … to assume operation and control of Metro,” said Katie Thomson, who was Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx’s special adviser on Metro before heading to law firm Morrison & Foerster in September. Skepticism abounds: Former government officials familiar with Metro’s inner workings have their doubts as well. But in his support for the move, the outspoken Evans raised questions about its viability, noting that Metro’s own head lawyer doesn’t think it could occur under the compact governing the agency’s structure, as Lauren reports for Pros. and Puerto Rico back from financial ruin - to clean house at the transit system. Want to keep up with all of MT’s song picks? Follow our Spotify playlist.Ī NEW WORLD ORDER FOR METRO? Metro Board Chairman Jack Evans endorsed a federal takeover of Metro on Wednesday, hours after The Washington Post’s editorial board advocated for a federal control board - akin to those formed to pull D.C. Please send tips, feedback and, of course, song lyrics to or inside a train. GO CUBS: Good morning and thanks for tuning in to POLITICO’s Morning Transportation, your daily tipsheet on all things trains, planes, automobiles and ports. But Denham is locked in a tight re-election fight, so nothing is assured. While Graves is more senior and chairs the Highways and Transit Subcommittee, his position on an ATC overhaul may not help his bid. Jeff Denham (R-Calif.) have already started laying the groundwork for campaigns, as our Lauren Gardner reported last month. Denham: Even though Shuster won’t hit his chairmanship term limit until 2019, both Graves and Rep. Although he added that “nothing is ever dead in Washington, D.C., so we have to stay vigilant.” “The rallying cries of general aviation have strengthened opposition in the Transportation & Infrastructure Committee, the Appropriations Committee and the Way and Means Committee,” Graves said this week. ‘Nothing is ever dead': Chairman Bill Shuster has failed to win enough support for his proposal to put ATC under the control of a nonprofit corporation, with opposition from both parties in both chambers - though he seems ready to try again next year. “ATC privatization didn’t happen in this Congress, and I don’t see it coming up in the next FAA reauthorization,” Graves said at a National Business Aviation Association convention in Orlando, according to the group’s summary of speeches by lawmakers. Sam Graves (R-Mo.) said this week that he doubts a plan to separate air traffic control from the FAA will be successful, putting him at odds with the House Transportation chairman he hopes to succeed. ![]()
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