Page 37: of Marine News Magazine (February 2016)

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FUNDING INFRASTRUCTURE dging nd d estorati tion a d dredi Coa t Coastal l r t C Coastal restoration and dredging

Photo: Chuck Perrodin, Louisiana’s CPRA o operations underway in Louisiana.operations underway in Louisiana.

funding, then dredging contractors would be better po- In a prepared statement, WCI President/CEO Mike sitioned to decide whether they can justify buying new Toohey said, “Some things are worth the wait and this is cer- equipment, Duffy said. “More equipment is needed na- tainly true for the FY ’16 Omnibus Appropriations agree- tionally, but since dredging is a business there must be a re- ment that provides record-level funding for the Corps’ Civil turn on investment,” he said. “A new, larger hopper dredge Works mission. The $1.3 billion above the Administration’s has a price tag of about $150 million, and no one can af- request for the Corps’ overall funding will help to modernize ford to be wrong about such a commitment.” our nation’s waterways infrastructure, facilitate exports, cre-

Demand for equipment ? uctuates, depending on river con- ate jobs, make more ef? cient the transportation supply chain, ditions and projects. “While we could use more dredges, there and increase American competitiveness in world markets.” have been periods when equipment was inactive for months,” Perhaps nowhere else in the nation’s economy is federal

Duffy said. “If the Corps’ funding levels were known and pre- funding more important to the wellbeing of commerce. dictable, the dredges would be there when they’re needed.” The increased funding at the federal level is encouraging.

More encouraging, though, is the realization that for every

Looking Ahead: Digging Deep(er) dredging dollar spent, the revenues that come back in the

Despite worries of inconsistent and insuf? cient funding form of economic bene? ts are exponentially larger. The for dredging on the nation’s waterways, it was in December time to dig deeper – in Washington and on the river – has that the Waterways Council (WCI) – the national public ? nally arrived, and not a moment too soon.

policy organization advocating for a modern and well-main- tained national system of ports and inland waterways – ap-

Susan Buchanan is a New Orleans-based business writer, plauded the work of negotiators to reach a ? nal agreement specializing in energy, maritime matters, agriculture, the for an FY 2016 Omnibus Appropriations bill that funds the environment and construction. She holds a master’s degree

Corps of Engineers’ Civil Works program under the Energy from Cornell University in agricultural economics and an & Water Development Appropriations bill. All of that fund- undergraduate degree from the University of Pennsylvania. ing came at levels far exceeding the President’s request(s).

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