Dredging to start soon on Savannah harbor deepening

Army Corps of Engineers signs project agreement with Georgia.    It’s all systems go for the Savannah Harbor Expansion Project after officials from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Georgia Department of Transportation and the Georgia Ports Authority on Wednesday signed a Project Partnership Agreement.
   The document establishes how the parties will share costs and responsibilities for the project. It also allows the Army Corps to begin awarding contracts and spend down available funds.    
   Deepening the Savannah River between the Atlantic Ocean and the Port of Savannah from 42 feet to 47 feet has been in the planning stage for more than 15 years. The Port of Savannah is the nation’s fourth largest container port. Last year it had throughput of 3.3 million TEUs, more than half of them heavy export loads. The extra depth is necessary to efficiently accommodate the new generation of big vessels, although fully-loaded 8,000 TEU-plus vessels need about 50 feet of water.
   The port authority said Tuesday that container traffic for the first quarter of the fiscal year grew almost 13 percent from a year ago to 891,408 TEUs.
   “Georgia and its congressional delegation have fought long and hard to see this project through to fruition — a project that is vitally important for economic development and job creation not only in the Southeast, but nationally as well,” Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal said in a statement. “After years of regulatory purgatory, we finally cleared the last hurdle, and hope to begin dredging in the Savannah River before the end of the year. This pivotal link in our logistics network will aid in the prompt delivery of valuable cargo to and from every corner of Georgia and, in turn, preserve and create jobs and encourage economic growth.”   
   The Army Corps economic analysis estimated that the harbor deepening project will bring $174 million in annual net transportation savings to the United States, and the extra five feet of depth will allow for an additional 3,600 cargo containers on each transit. The study also indicated for each $1 invested in deepening, the nation will gain a benefit of $5.50.
   The agency estimates the project will cost approximately $706 million. The price tag has escalated from its authorized level of $500 million in 1999 primarily due to more environmental mitigation requirements.  
   The project had to be reauthorized because the cost changed significantly from the original amount. The Water Resources Reform and Development Act enacted last summer authorized the Corps to proceed with the deepening, but Congress has yet to appropriate funds.  
   The Georgia legislature has already set aside $266 million for its share of the project, which the Corps will draw on to start construction while waiting for federal money to be approved.   
   Georgia Ports Authority Executive Director Curtis Foltz said Congress needs to step up and fill its obligation to fund the federal share of about $400 million.  
   “There is no excuse for the federal government not to fund it because it’s has such a huge benefit-to-cost ratio, strong bipartisan support and the full backing of the Army Corps,” he said in a phone interview.
   The Savannah deepening project is high on the priority list of federal projects. The Obama administration included the harbor expansion in its “We Can’t Wait” initiative to speed up multi-agency permitting and review of important infrastructure projects. Vice President Joseph Biden and U.S. Army Under Secretary Joseph Westphal toured the port last year to highlight the project’s importance to the economy.  
   The Army Corps will soon submit its work plan for the upcoming year, which will be included in the White House’s fiscal year 2016 budget request to Congress. Lawmakers will consider the budget in determining final appropriations for the year.
   Under normal procedures, Congress funds the amount of work the Corps expects to complete each year. It does not fund the entire balance at one time.
   If all goes well, Foltz said the bulk of the dredging will be completed in 2018, with only environmental preservation work remaining.
   The project includes extending the shipping channel an additional seven miles into the ocean. Environmental mitigation work includes installing a dissolved oxygen injection system for the harbor, building a fish bypass near Augusta, rerouting fresh water to protect wetlands, restoring brackish marshes and recovering the Civil War ironclad CSS Georgia from the bed of the Savannah River.
   On Tuesday, the Army Corps gave tentative approval to the Port of Charleston to dredge its main harbor to 52-feet. The project is still a year away from receiving final Corps approval.  
   Foltz said both projects have merit.  
   “The Southeast deserves capable ports in Charleston and Savannah,” he said.