Oregon Coastal Dredging funding included in FY2014 Omnibus Appropriations Act, March 7

Nine Oregon coastal ports will receive much needed federal support for maintenance dredging from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers according to an announcement made Tuesday. The majority of Oregon ports were slated to receive no federal funding in the President’s Fiscal Year 2014 budget. Forty million dollars was made available through a competitive program by the U.S. Congress in the 2014 Omnibus Appropriations Act which became law on January 17th. Oregon shallow-draft ports successfully competed for a portion of this money, and will receive more than $6 million in additional dredging funds. Maintenance dredging of coastal ports has long been a responsibility of the federal government. However, for the past several years, funds to dredge Oregon’s shallow-draft ports have been largely non-existent. In 2013, Governor Kitzhaber and the Coastal Caucus worked to secure $5 million in state funds to pay the USACE to dredge several ports on the southern Oregon Coast. In recognition of their shared interests and the importance of finding a solution to meet their dredging needs, a coalition of coastal ports formed and has been serving as an additional unified voice in this process. The announcement of additional federal funding helps ensure river mouths up and down the coast will continue to be safe for commercial and recreational users. The nine shallow-draft ports that received funds for dredging include: $717,000, Chetco River, OR; $413,000, Coquille, OR; $380,000, Depoe Bay, OR; $1,262,000, Port Orford, OR; $638,000, Rogue River at Gold Beach, OR; $730,000, Siuslaw River, OR; $1,227,000, Skipanon Channel, OR; $659,000, Tillamook Bay & Bar, OR; $861,000, Umpqua River, OR. For a complete list of USACE funded projects in Oregon: http://www.usace.army.mil/Missions/CivilWorks/Budget.aspx.