NOR'WESTER NEWSLETTER ISSUE #466                                                                       

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June 25, 2013
In This Issue:
FY2013 Corps work plan released; highs and lows for Northwest navigation
Senate Energy & Water Development Subcommittee completes mark up of FY2014 bill

FY2013 Corps work plan released; highs and lows for Northwest navigation 

 

Today, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers released their work plan for FY2013.  The Corps was directed to develop the work plan as part of the FY2013 year long continuing resolution (CR) which was signed by President Obama in late March. The work plan outlines funding levels for individual projects and includes a mix of good and bad news for Northwest navigation projects.  


PNWA Nor'wester readers will recall that as part of the CR, only projects that were funded in FY2012 were eligible to receive funding in the FY2013 work plan. Most projects that met this criteria, and were included in the President's FY2013 budget request, appear to have received a small haircut from the levels they saw in the Administration's FY2013 proposal. Some projects, however, did received notable funding increases as starred (**) below.  PNWA supported Corps projects that received funding in the work plan are as follows.  Please note that we have learned from the Corps that the following numbers will likely see an additional 1% deduction.  

Construction (CG):
Columbia River Fish Mitigation (CRFM): $82,834,000
Mt. St. Helens sediment control: $3,493,000
Lower Columbia River ecosystem restoration: $3,642,700
**Duwamish & Green River Basin ecosystem restoration: $2,784,420

General Investigations (GI):
Willamette River environmental dredging: $169,660
**Elliott Bay Seawall, WA (Port of Seattle): $49,900
**Puyallup River flood damage reduction study (Port of Tacoma): $499,000

Operations & Maintenance (O&M):
Columbia River at the Mouth (MCR): $18,891,138
**Columbia & Lower Willamette below Vancouver & Portland (C&LW): $33,518,730
Columbia River between Vancouver & The Dalles: $929,138
**Coos Bay, OR (Port of Coos Bay): $6,046,882
Yaquina Bay & Harbor, OR (Port of Newport): $$2,774,440
Seattle Harbor, WA (Port of Seattle): $955,086
Lake Washington Ship Canal, WA: $8,564,508
Tacoma Harbor, WA (Port of Tacoma): $1,030,934
**Grays Harbor, WA (Port of Grays Harbor): $9,950,060
**Humboldt Harbor & Bay, CA (Port of Humboldt Bay): $2,356,278
Bonneville Lock & Dam: $6,912,278
**The Dalles Lock & Dam: $3,536,388
John Day Lock & Dam: $4,280,746
McNary Lock & Dam: $5,728,829
Ice Harbor Lock & Dam: $4,137,541
Lower Monumental Lock & Dam: $2,566,242
Little Goose Lock & Dam: $2,196,212
Lower Granite Lock & Dam: $2,944,766

Willamette Falls Locks: $109,780

 

As expected, Oregon and Washington small ports were almost completely zeroed out for FY2013, which is in line with the Corps' approach to small waterways nationwide. PNWA continues to advocate on their behalf and will be looking to secure robust O&M funding directed to these projects in FY2014. We are also working with our small port members to identify alternative approaches to maintenance funding, until a long-term fix for the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund is enacted. 

 

Note: PNWA staff are currently at the Summer Convention in La Conner, WA. All of our documents will be updated with this information once we return, and will be sent out separately from this late breaking information. For more information, contact Heather Stebbings at heather.stebbings@pnwa.net

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Senate Energy & Water Development Subcommittee completes mark up of FY2014 bill 
 
Today, The Senate Energy & Water Development Subcommittee passed their FY2014 Appropriations bill. $34.773 billion was proposed to fund the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Department of Interior and Department of Energy for the fiscal year which runs October 1, 2013 through September 30, 2014. This is $1.96 billion below the FY2013 enacted level, however a $290 million increase from the President's FY2014 budget request and a $4.37 billion increase to the House proposal which was released last week.

The Corps was funded at $5.272 billion, $546 million over what the Administration proposed for FY2014 and $300 million above FY2013 enacted levels. The operations & maintenance (O&M) account, which PNWA supported projects rely heavily on, received an increase of $300 million above FY2013 levels for a total of $2.7 billion. The Corps regulatory program saw a small increase as well, to $200 million. Construction (CG) and General Investigations (GI) both saw decreases, with CG proposed to receive $1.542 billion and $120 million proposed for GI. A very bright spot in the Senate bill was $1 billion in funding from the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund (HMTF). This is the same level that was proposed in the House bill and a very positive step toward full spending of annual HMTF receipts.

The Department of Energy (DOE) and Department of Interior also both saw increases in funding from FY2013 enacted levels. DOE received a $1.163 billion increase for a total of $28.210 billion, with priority given to advancing clean energy technologies and investing in research that will spur future economic growth. Interior, which has jurisdiction over the Bureau of Reclamation, received $1.1 billion, a $54 million increase above what the Department saw in FY2013.

As mentioned above, the House Energy & Water Development Subcommittee passed their bill last week. In a typical year, the two Chambers would now complete their respective bills and then "conference" the two to present compromise version to the President for his signature. This year, however, the House and Senate budget allocations are $91 billion apart and already sparking rumors of a year long continuing resolution (CR) for FY2014. PNWA continues to monitor the appropriations process and will provide additional information to our members as it is available.