33 U.S.C. § 988 : US Code - Section 988: Rates of charges or tolls

Search 33 U.S.C. § 988 : US Code - Section 988: Rates of charges or tolls

(a) Negotiation with Canadian authorities; revenue sharing formula;
consideration of American financing costs, including interest and
debt principal; rules of measurement; hearings and rehearings;
approval by President; court review
The Corporation is further authorized and directed to negotiate
with the Saint Lawrence Seaway Authority of Canada, or such other
agency as may be designated by the Government of Canada, an
agreement as to the rules for the measurement of vessels and
cargoes and the rates of charges or tolls to be levied for the use
of the Saint Lawrence Seaway, and for an equitable division of the
revenues of the seaway between the Corporation and the Saint
Lawrence Seaway Authority of Canada. Any formula for a division of
revenues which takes into consideration annual debt charges shall
include the total cost, including both interest and debt principal,
incurred by the United States in financing activities authorized by
this chapter, whether or not reimbursable by the Corporation. Such
rules for the measurement of vessels and cargoes and rates of
charges or tolls shall, to the extent practicable, be established
or changed only after giving due notice and holding a public
hearing. In the event that such negotiations shall not result in
agreement, the Corporation is authorized and directed to establish
unilaterally such rules of measurement and rates of charges or
tolls for the use of the works under its administration: Provided,
however, That the Corporation shall give three months' notice, by
publication in the Federal Register, of any proposals to establish
or change unilaterally the basic rules of measurement and of any
proposals to establish or change unilaterally the rates of charges
or tolls, during which period a public hearing shall be conducted.
Any such establishment of or changes in basic rules of measurement
or rates of charges or tolls shall be subject to and shall take
effect thirty days following the date of approval thereof by the
President, and shall be final and conclusive, subject to review as
hereinafter provided. Any person aggrieved by an order of the
Corporation establishing or changing such rules or rates may,
within such thirty-day period, apply to the Corporation for a
rehearing of the matter upon the basis of which the order was
entered. The Corporation shall have power to grant or deny the
application for rehearing and upon such rehearing or without
further hearing to abrogate or modify its order. The action of the
Corporation in denying an application for rehearing or in
abrogating or modifying its order shall be final and conclusive
thirty days after its approval by the President unless within such
thirty-day period a petition for review is filed by a person
aggrieved by such action in the United States Court of Appeals for
the circuit in which the works to which the order applies are
located or in the United States Court of Appeals for the District
of Columbia. The court in which such petition is filed shall have
the same jurisdiction and powers as in the case of petitions to
review orders of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission filed
under section 825l of title 16. The judgment of the court shall be
final subject to review by the Supreme Court upon certiorari or
certification as provided in sections 1254(1) and 1254(2) of title
28. The filing of an application for rehearing shall not, unless
specifically ordered by the Corporation, operate as a stay of the
Corporation's order. The filing of a petition for review shall not,
unless specifically ordered by the court, operate as a stay of the
Corporation's order.
(b) Principles governing establishment of rates
In the course of its negotiations, or in the establishment,
unilaterally, of the rates of charges or tolls as provided in
subsection (a) of this section, the Corporation shall be guided by
the following principles:
(1) That the rates shall be fair and equitable and shall give
due consideration to encouragement of increased utilization of
the navigation facilities, and to the special character of bulk
agricultural, mineral, and other raw materials.
(2) That rates shall vary according to the character of cargo
with the view that each classification of cargo shall so far as
practicable derive relative benefits from the use of these
facilities.
(3) That the rates on vessels in ballast without passengers or
cargo may be less than the rates for vessels with passengers or
cargo.
(4) That the rates prescribed shall be calculated to cover, as
nearly as practicable, all costs of operating and maintaining the
works under the administration of the Corporation, including
depreciation and payments in lieu of taxes.