Comer Announces Field Hearing in Kentucky to Examine Army Corps’ Inconsistent Fees Charged to Marina Owners

WASHINGTON – Today, House Committee on Oversight and Accountability Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) announced a field hearing in Jamestown, Kentucky titled “A Burden to Business: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Assessment of Administrative Fees.” The field hearing will examine concerns over information obtained by the Committee detailing the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (the Corps) levying inconsistent, confusing, unexpected, and exorbitant fees against marina business owners.

“In Kentucky, tourism is crucial to our state economy, especially lake related tourism, and marinas throughout the region provide critical economic opportunities for our local communities. Unfortunately, the Army Corps appears to be levying inconsistent and exorbitant fees against marina owners and has failed to provide sufficient justification. These unexpected fees can cripple marina operators and as Chairman of the House Oversight Committee, I have made it a priority to bring much needed transparency and consistency to fees pushed by the Corps,” said Chairman Comer. “Next week’s congressional field hearing will bring officials from the Government Accountability Office and Army Corps of Engineers to the Commonwealth. I look forward to advancing solutions to ensure all fees incurred on small businesses are calculated consistently and properly.”   

In 2021, Chairman Comer highlighted the Corps’ lack of transparency and requested documents from the Corps to ensure marina businesses were not unfairly charged. In 2022, Chairman Comer emphasized how questions still remain about the Corps’ fee policies and requested the Government Accountability Office (GAO) conduct a study examining these fee practices. The GAO study concluded the Corps lacks centralized guidance on fees. To address the lack of transparency and unclear fee policies, Chairman Comer introduced the Maintaining Access to Recreational Industry and Necessary Adjustments (MARINA) Act in 2023.  

WHAT: Field Hearing titled “A Burden to Business: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Assessment of Administrative Fees”

DATE: Thursday, March 28, 2024

TIME: 11:00 a.m. ET

LOCATION: Lake Cumberland State Resort Park in Jamestown, Kentucky

WITNESSES:

Major General Mark C. Quander

Commanding General

Great Lakes and Ohio River Division

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

Ms. Paula Johnson-Muic

Director of Real Estate

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

Mr. Andrew Von Ah

Director, Physical Infrastructure Issues

Government Accountability Office