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WASHINGTON – Today, the House Appropriations Energy & Water Subcommittee released information regarding Army Corps projects set to be funded during the upcoming 2010 Fiscal Year. Due to the efforts of Congressman Brown, the following projects were included by the Subcommittee:
• $100,000 to begin a reconnaissance study to deepen the Charleston Harbor beyond its currently authorized depth of 45 feet. A deeper harbor in Charleston is critical to providing the Port with a competitive advantage over other East Coast ports as the expanded Panama Canal comes on-line around 2014;
• $1.07 million to conduct needed maintenance dredging at Georgetown Harbor. This represents almost $1 million above the level of funding requested by the President for Georgetown, and builds on the Congressman’s history of providing over $25 million in funding to Georgetown since coming to office. The Congressman will continue to work with Senator Graham to provide additional funding for Georgetown Harbor as the 2010 Appropriations Process moves forward;
• $12.39 million for maintenance dredging and disposal area construction at Charleston Harbor. Not maintaining the Federal channel at Charleston Harbor will force ships using the harbor to either “light load” or seek to utilize another port. With the Port as the economic backbone of the State of South Carolina, it is critical that the over 40 miles of channel at Charleston be maintained on a regular bases. This represents almost $8 million above the President’s request for Charleston Harbor; and
• $2.5 million for maintenance dredging and disposal area construction along the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway. This funding will build on on-going work by the Corps along the Waterway in an effort to return the Waterway to its authorized depth of 12 feet.
Following the release, Congressman Brown made the following comments:
“Our ports and waterways are critically important to the First District and the entire State of South Carolina. The ports of Charleston and Georgetown alone facilitate 260,800 jobs across South Carolina and nearly $45 billion in economic activity each year. Continued maintenance dredging of each of these ports and the Waterway, which has the potential to become a major coastal freight corridor under “marine highways” plans, has always been major priority. We have to continue to fight for funding because of the low levels requested by the President, and I am pleased to see a strong commitment made to Charleston, Georgetown, and the Waterway in this bill.
“This bill also contains funding that will allow the Corps, working with the State Ports Authority, to begin the process of deepening the Charleston Harbor beyond its current depth of 45 feet. A deeper harbor at the Port of Charleston will bring significant economic benefits to our region and state, and will ensure the competitiveness of the Port as bigger and deeper draft ships begin to visit the East Coast through an expanded Panama Canal.”
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