ARTICLE 98
Advisory national waterways councils will be formed in accordance with detailed regulations issued by the National Cabinet with the consent of the National Council to co-operate in the management of the waterways.
ARTICLE 99
Charges may be imposed on natural waterways only for such works, facilities, and other accommodations as are designed for the relief of traffic. In the case of state and municipal public works they may not exceed the necessary costs of construction and maintenance. The construction and maintenance costs of works designed not exclusively for the relief of traffic, but also for serving other purposes, may be defrayed only to a proportionate extent by navigation tolls. Interest and amortization charges on the invested capital are included in the costs of construction.
The provisions of the preceding paragraph apply to the charges imposed for artificial waterways and for accommodations in connection therewith and in harbours.
The total costs of a waterway, a river basin, or a system of waterways may be taken into consideration in determining navigation tolls in the field of inland water transportation.
These provisions apply also to the floating of timber on navigable waterways.
Only the Commonwealth imposes on foreign ships and their cargoes other or higher charges than on German ships and their cargoes.
For the procurement of means for the maintenance and development of the German system of waterways the Commonwealth may by law call on the shipping interests for contributions also in other ways [than by tolls].