The Port of Baltimore is slated to receive $53 million for dredging and environmental restoration following the passage of the fiscal year 2010 Energy and Water Development Conference Report. The bill includes funding for U.S. Army Corps of Engineers projects in Maryland, and is now headed to the President to be signed into law.
The funding includes:
• $17.5 million for maintenance dredging of Baltimore's harbor and shipping channels
• $26.98 million to cover operation dredging costs for the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal. The C&D Canal currently carries 40 percent of all ship traffic in and out of the Port of Baltimore. It provides a shortcut for vessels traveling between Baltimore and points north
.• $8 million for the continuation of the Poplar Island restoration project, which is taking clean dredged materials from the shipping lanes leading to the Port of Baltimore and using it to stabilize the shoreline, create habitat areas and restore the wetlands of one of the Chesapeake Bay's most valuable island ecosystems in Talbot County.
• $314,000 for the Mid Chesapeake Bay Island Study, which is examining the potential beneficial use of placing clean dredged material from the Port of Baltimore's shipping channels to restore the habitat and protect the shoreline of James and Barren Islands in Dorchester County.
"This bill is a federal investment in the lives and livelihoods that depend on Maryland's waterways," says Sen. Mikulski. "These projects will help ensure that freight carriers and cruise ships can safely navigate Baltimore's channels so the Port of Baltimore can continue to serve as an important economic engine that creates and sustains jobs in Maryland."
The Port of Baltimore is a major economic engine for Maryland and the U.S., supporting more than 50,000 jobs in Maryland, including more than 16,500 direct jobs. Among U.S. ports, Baltimore receives the top rank for handling noncontainerized roll on/roll off cargo, trucks, imported forest products gypsum, sugar and iron ore. It ranks 12th in the nation in total value of foreign cargo handled. It also is the largest automobile exporter in the country, the second largest in total automobile tonnage, and the 13th largest in foreign cargo tonnage. The Port's activities support approximately $2 billion in business revenue, $3.6 billion in personal wages and salaries, and $388 million in state, county and municipal taxes annually.
Source: Sen. Barbara Mikulski
Writer: Walaika Haskins