Recovery Act supports coastal waterways charting

Recovery Act supports coastal waterways charting

Locke

   The U.S. Commerce Department on Thursday announced $40 million for critical hydrographic survey and chart projects across the United States to create jobs and support safe and efficient maritime trade.
   Funded by the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the department's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration will allocate $32 million to use hydrographic surveying contractors to collect data in coastal areas which are used to map the seafloor and update nautical charts.
   'Our waterways are facing unprecedented demands from marine commerce, but our seafloor mapping is outdated,' said Commerce Secretary Gary Locke, who made the announcement in Norfolk, Va. 'Charting our coastal seafloors for the most up-to-date information gives ports and shippers important data to increase efficiency and safety, boosting our nation's long-term economic health.'
   Recovery Act funding will be used to conduct 39 surveys, charting about 2,000 square nautical miles in the Chesapeake Bay, and in the coastal waters of Alaska, Washington, California, Louisiana, Alabama, Florida and Virginia.
   'Using the latest technologies, surveyors map the seafloor, measure the water depth, search the ocean for storm debris or accident wreckage, and record the natural features of coastal seabeds and fragile aquatic life,' the Commerce Department said.
   Between 2010 and 2020, the department estimates the value of freight carried in and out of U.S. ports will increase by 43 percent.
   'To accommodate this growth, facility planners need hydrographic survey data to facilitate the century's bigger ships and busier waterways,' the department said. 'The information gathered through these surveys will also support essential planning efforts along coastlines providing important data to help balance the conservation needs of fragile ecosystems and competing demands for coastal ocean space for navigation, alternative energy, or other commercial purposes.'