|
President's Budget a mixed bag for Northwest ports
President Obama released his 2013 budget today with mixed results for U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) projects in the Pacific Northwest. The trend for national Corps funding continues to decline: the President proposed $4.7 billion for FY2013, which is $100 million less than the FY2012 budget request and $300 million below the Corps' FY2012 appropriation of $5 billion.
The Administration is requesting $205 million for the Corps' regulatory program. This represents an increase of $9 million from the FY2012 request and is $12 million more than what was appropriated in FY2012. PNWA applauds this increase; the Corps regulatory program is critical in the Northwest as it is used for processing permits for navigation and environmental restoration projects.
The budget request for the Construction and Investigation programs were both proposed for decreases. The President requested $9 million less than last year for Construction ($1.47B) and $2 million less for Investigations, which is largely planning and studies ($102M).
The national Operations & Maintenance (O&M) budget, a significant account for Northwest projects, fared relatively well in the proposal. It was funded at$2.398B, an $80M increase from the FY2012 budget, though a decrease from the final FY2012 funding level of $2.412B.
In reviewing specific project funding, we found that some Northwest projects have been adequately funded while others have been zeroed out completely. The budget focuses on what the Administration describes as the "highest performing projects", and therefore high-tonnage projects on the Columbia Snake River System (CSRS), Oregon coast and Puget Sound received the most robust funding in the region. A particularly bright spot on the CSRS is $5M for dune augmentation and stabilization at the Mouth of the Columbia River's (MCR) South Jetty. The MCR jetties have been a very high priority for PNWA for many years, and we are pleased to finally see jetty repair funding reflected in the budget.
A noticeable omission in the budget is the lack of funding for shallow draft or "low use" waterways. When earmarks were available as a tool, this could be addressed on an individual project basis in the appropriations process. With the ban on earmarks, Congress last year provided additional national pots of funding with directions for the Corps to develop work plans on how to spend the extra monies. Last week we reported on the extra funding our supported projects received. PNWA will again advocate for additional funding to be provided, and will work to ensure that our Corps districts receive the funding they need to maintain our Northwest projects.
Following are the proposed funding levels in the budget for PNWA-supported projects.
Operations & Maintenance - Deep Draft
Columbia & Lower Willamette below Vancouver & Portland (C&LW), OR/WA - $28,066,000
Columbia River at the Mouth (MCR), OR/WA - $19,277,000
Columbia River between Vancouver & The Dalles, OR/WA - $931,000
Coos Bay (Port of Coos Bay), OR - $5,843,000
Yaquina Bay & Harbor (Port of Newport), OR - $2,780,000
Skipanon Channel (Port of Astoria), OR - 0
Lake Washington Ship Canal, WA - $8,646,000
Seattle Harbor, WA - $957,000
Tacoma Harbor, WA - $1,033,000
Humboldt Harbor & Bay (Port of Humboldt Bay, CA) - $1,905,000
Operations & Maintenance - Shallow Draft
Columbia River at Baker Bay (Port of Ilwaco) - 0
Columbia River b/t Chinook & Sand Island (Port of Chinook) - 0
Siuslaw River (Port of Siuslaw) - 0
Yaquina River (Port of Toledo) - 0
Swinomish Channel (Port of Skagit County) - 0
Tillamook Bay & Bar (Port of Garibaldi) - 0
Umpqua River (Port of Umpqua) - 0
Willamette River at Willamette Falls, OR - $110,000
Operations & Maintenance - Inland Locks
Bonneville Lock & Dam - $7,039,000
The Dalles Lock & Dam - $3,196,000
John Day Lock & Dam - $4,329,000
McNary Lock & Dam - $5,872,000
Ice Harbor Lock & Dam - $4,237,000
Lower Monumental Lock & Dam - $2,603,000
Little Goose Lock & Dam - $2,341,000
Lower Granite Lock & Dam - $3,062,000
Construction (CG)
Columbia River Fish Mitigation (CRFM) - $98,000,000
Lower Columbia River ecosystem restoration, OR/WA - $3,950,000
Mt. St. Helens sediment control - $3,500,000
Duwamish & Green River basin ecosystem restoration - $2,500,000
General Investigations (GI)
Elliott Bay Seawall, WA study (Port of Seattle) - 0
Humboldt Bay shoal management feasibility study - 0
Puyallup River flood damage reduction study - 0
Willamette River environmental dredging, OR - $580,000
Continuing Authorities Program
For our members who partner with the Corps on projects through the Continuing Authorities Program (CAP), please note that only the following sections have been funded:
Aquatic Ecosystem Restoration (Section 206) - $4,034,000
Beneficial Uses of Dredged Material (Section 204) - $4,995,000
Flood Control Projects (Section 205) - $4,978,000
Project Modifications for Improvement of the Environment (Section 1135) - $5,249,000
Navigation Mitigation Project (Section 111) - $4,806,000
Stay tuned!
Today and tomorrow, PNWA staff will be meeting with the Corps' Portland, Walla Walla, Seattle, and San Francisco Districts to better understand the proposed budget levels, and what they mean for navigation and ecosystem restoration projects in the Northwest. PNWA's FY2013 Navigation Projects document will be finalized and released to the Northwest Congressional delegation and posted to our website by the end of this week.
| 
