$2 MILLION APPROPRIATED FOR DREDGING OF COLUMBIA RIVER

$2 MILLION APPROPRIATED FOR DREDGING OF COLUMBIA RIVER    The Columbia river channel improvement project received $2 million in the latest omnibus appropriations bill for the 2002 fiscal year approved by the U.S. Congress.
   The project, sponsored by the ports of Vancouver, Wash., Longview, Portland, Kalama, St. Helens and Woodload, had received an initial $4.5 million allocation in the previous fiscal year.
   “Upon receipt of all approvals, we will use the funds to start first on environmental measures,” said Ken O'Hollaren, executive director of the port of Longview and chair of the Interstate Columbia River Improvement Project.
   The Oregon and Washington ports also welcomed other items funded by Congress, including:
-Maintenance dredging on the Columbia main stem — $16.3 million;
-Maintenance dredging at the Mouth of the Columbia, including the Benson Beach demonstration project — $9.2 million;
-Restoration of funds for maintenance dredging at all the coastal Oregon ports;
-Operation and repair of the John Day Lock and Dam to ensure continued passage of products barged from upper Columbia and Snake River ports — $4.4 million; and
-Lower Columbia River ecosystem restoration — $2 million.