Page 35: of Marine News Magazine (January 2022)

34 36

Feature

Dredging

Rather than an end point de? ned by budget limits, say, to pay for one component, e.g., dredging, new resources can mean that a project is declared ? nished because it in- cluded dredging and material reuse and barrier construc- tion and beach restoration, or whatever the particulars are that de? ne success within a waterway, not just because one task was completed.

The California dredging exec referenced above predicts additional bene? ts. It’s his sense that project scope will ex- pand as will the number of projects. For example, the ACE is responsible for maintaining federally authorized channel depth and width. Frequently, restricted funding results in an endpoint that, yes, keeps a channel functional as re- quired, but with a kind of temporary reality. If more mon- ey were available the project could have been done right, completed to proper depth and width. Then, resources could shift to new projects; the pie gets bigger.

This assessment predicts IIJA will (1) provide 100% of funding for the Corps’ listed set of projects; (2) money will be available for projects that are otherwise queued up but,

GLDD say, their bene? t/cost ratio was judged too low to qualify for funding and (3) local, relatively small projects will be “The IIJA is a long reassessed; many of these projects are shovel ready, they just need federal dollars.

overdue investment in

Employment is a critical issue here, something that aligns with the Biden administration’s emphasis on “good

U.S. infrastructure that paying U.S. jobs” and helping economically disadvantaged provides signi? cant areas, giving various locations a second chance. Post indus- trial waterfronts, for example, could be a new focal point, funding for a broad sites requiring dredging to allow new development.

Finally, offshore wind is a giant issue opening new de- range of infrastructure mands for dredging. Discussions are ongoing now between dredgers and wind energy companies. New work includes projects many of which sea? oor preparation, turbine foundation, trenching and even landside work to prepare sites for the vast space re- involve dredging.” quired for turbine assembly. IIJA provides $65 billion for projects related to power and the electric grid. Offshore wind will get some of that.

With IIJA, of course, there are hundreds of steps and de- - William Hanson, cisions still to come regarding actual expenditures of money.

Senior VP, Government Relations/

That process, and ? nal sums, are hard to predict, develop-

Market Development, Great Lakes ments that will emerge as the federal budget process starts

Dredge and Dock Company ? rst quarter 2022. Nevertheless, for the dredging industry, looking ahead, the starting numbers are impressive.

www.marinelink.com MN 35|