Brown and 12 Senators Urge U.S. Army Corps To Provide $30 Million In Funding For Dredging And Maintaining Great Lakes

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and 12 of his colleagues urged the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) to follow the recommendation of the bipartisan Senate-House appropriations bill and allocate $30 million towards Great Lakes dredging and maintenance. According to the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2014, funding Great Lakes navigation projects can create jobs, save taxpayers money, and improve local economies. But while the Great Lakes—especially Lake Erie—are vital to serving Ohio’s economic needs, shipping channels have not been adequately maintained and there is a backlog of critical dredging needs. 

“Protecting the Great Lakes is about safeguarding our economy and the livelihood of thousands of Ohioans,” Brown said. “We rely on the Great Lakes to transport goods necessary for our workers to work and our businesses to compete. But for too long Northern Ohio’s harbors have not been properly dredged or maintained. The Army Corps should remedy this by using some of the money Congress appropriated for Great Lakes navigation projects. This would benefit Ohio taxpayers and jobs, and strengthen its economy.” 

According to the State of Ohio, more than $10 billion of the state’s nearly $40 billion tourism industry is derived from counties along the Lake Erie shoreline. Further, the Great Lakes play a vital and cost efficient role in transporting food, materials, and other components necessary to aiding Ohio’s workers and businesses. But in order for this function to continue, the Great Lakes’ harbors and channels must be dredged; their breakwaters maintained; and their locks must operate effectively. In order to achieve this, Brown urged USACE to use $30 million of the $200 million dollars Congress appropriated to Great Lakes navigation projects. 

Brown continues to fight to protect Lake Erie and ensure it receives the necessary funding to strengthen Ohio’s economy. Last month, Brown helped secure more than $300 million in bipartisan Omnibus Bill funds for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI), an interagency effort to target the most significant problems in the region and jumpstart restoration efforts to protect, maintain, and restore the chemical, biological, and physical integrity of the Great Lakes. In July 2013, Brown and U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur (OH-9) called on the House of Representatives to make immediate changes to a bill that would slash the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) budget by nearly 80 percent, from $285 million dollars to just $60 million. Currently, these cuts are still intact as the bill continues to be considered by the House committee.

Brown is a co-sponsor of the Great Lakes Ecological and Economic Protection Act (GLEEPA), bipartisan legislation which is aimed at preserving the Great Lakes and bolstering economic growth throughout the Great Lakes region. In May 2013, the Senate passed the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) which included an amendment Brown introduced that would prevent the invasion of Asian carp into the Ohio River. Based on the Strategic Response to Asian Carp Invasion Act, and passed unanimously 95-0, the amendment would enable the federal government to have a more effective partnership with state and local entities that are working to slow the spread of Asian carp.

Brown’s letter to USACE Assistant Secretary, Jo-Ellen Darcy, can be read in its entirety below:

The Honorable Jo-Ellen Darcy                                                          

Assistant Secretary of the Army

Department of the Army, Civil Works

108 Army Pentagon

Washington, DC  20310-0108

Dear Secretary Darcy:

The Great Lakes serve a vital transportation function for hauling raw materials for our manufacturers, building materials for roads and bridges, coal for powering our homes and businesses, equipment for wind turbines, and food for domestic and international consumption.  This mode of transportation through the Great Lakes is often the least expensive way to ship these goods across the Midwest.  In order for this navigational infrastructure to function well, harbors and channels need to be dredged, breakwaters need to be maintained, and locks need to operate effectively.  The system, however, has not been adequately maintained and faces a backlog of critical dredging needs, including construction and expansion of dredged material management facilities; aging locks in need of repair and modernization; and deteriorating navigation structures such as breakwaters, piers, and jetties, most of which were built in the late 19^th and early 20^th centuries. 

On January 16, 2014, Congress approved an appropriations measure for fiscal year 2014 (FY2014) that provided funding to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (the Corps) for a variety of water resource projects, including Great Lakes navigation projects.  In addition to amounts specifically allocated to individual navigation projects, additional funding was provided, which the Corps will distribute to individual projects across the country using guidance provided in the bill.  This additional funding was provided by Congress because, as explained in the joint statement, “Federal navigation channels maintained at only a fraction of authorized dimensions . . . results in economic inefficiencies and risks infrastructure failure, which can cause substantial economic losses.  Investing in operation, maintenance, and rehabilitation of infrastructure today will save taxpayers money in the future.”  Of the additional funds provided by Congress, Great Lakes navigation projects are eligible for about $200 million, which include additional funds for navigation maintenance, deep-draft harbors and channels, small remote or subsistence navigation, and regional sediment management.

We urge you to direct at a minimum $30 million from these additional funds to Great Lakes navigation projects.  The backlog in dredging projects, along with low lake levels in recent years, has forced vessels to light-load, grounded vessels, impeded safe navigation, closed harbors, and threatened other harbors with closure.  In addition, the lack of maintenance to locks and breakwaters, along with a lack of adequate dredged material disposal facilities, necessitates a significant portion of the additional funds be directed to Great Lakes projects.  

The Great Lakes navigational infrastructure is essential to the strength of our economy and the protection of lives and property.  Providing funding to adequately maintain this infrastructure needs to be prioritized.  As you work to allocate the FY2014 funds, we urge you to recognize the tremendous economic value of the Great Lakes navigational system to the region and the nation.

Thank you for your consideration of this request. 

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