(WASHINGTON, D.C.) – Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.) unveiled legislation Tuesday aimed at overhauling how the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers charges fees to marina owners across Kentucky’s lakes region.
The Maintaining Access to Recreational Industry and Necessary Adjustments (MARINA) Act would establish standardized fee calculations and cap certain charges that marina operators say have threatened their businesses with unpredictable costs.
The push comes after a Government Accountability Office study found that the Corps has imposed inconsistent and steep fees on small business owners in tourism-dependent communities throughout Kentucky’s 1st Congressional District, which contains more marinas than any other district in the state.
“Kentucky marina operators are facing inconsistent and exorbitant fees imposed by the Army Corps of Engineers without sufficient transparency or justification,” Comer said in a statement announcing the bill’s reintroduction. “It’s time to pass a legislative solution to protect our marinas and ensure fees imposed on Kentucky’s small businesses are calculated fairly, consistently, and transparently.”
The legislation would cap sales of food, beverages, fuel, boats, motors, and boat lifts at one percent when calculating annual rent payments to the Corps. It also restricts when administrative fees can be charged, limiting them to non-routine Corps District functions, and extends initial lease terms from current durations to 50 years, with 25-year renewals.
Comer has pursued the issue for years through his position as chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. In February 2021, he requested documents from the Corps about fee calculation processes. The following year, he asked the GAO to study the Corps’ administrative fee practices. In March 2024, the Oversight Committee held a field hearing in Jamestown, Kentucky, where marina owners detailed their experiences with unexpected charges.
The legislation aims to protect locally owned marinas that Comer says help fulfill the Corps’ congressional mandate to enhance recreational opportunities on federal waterways.
