Today, the Corps funding details were released for the FY2014 workplan and FY2015 budget request.  We are so pleased to report that PNWA supported projects did extremely well!  Details are below.

FY2014 Workplan

As previously reported, the Corps was required to develop a workplan for the additional funding provided in the FY2014 omnibus.   Nearly every PNWA supported project received additional funding in the workplan, for a total increase of over $22M for our projects in the region.  Highlights include new start designation and funding for the MCR jetties major rehabilitation and the Seattle Harbor deepening study; $10.5M in additional operations & maintenance (O&M) funding for the MCR jetties; and necessary channel maintenance funding for our supported small ports in the region.  PNWA couldn't be more pleased with these numbers, and sincerely thanks the Northwest Congressional delegation and their staff, the Corps, and our PNWA members for their efforts on behalf of our NW projects. 

FY2015 President's Budget

President Obama released his FY2015 budget proposal today with another year of mixed results for Northwest ports.  The funding level for the Corps is similar to the Administration's proposed budgets for the last few years, and would continue the downward trend in funding for the agency.  The President proposed $4.5B for the Corps of Engineers, which is $934M below FY2014 enacted amount in the omnibus, and $200M below the Administration's FY2014 budget proposal.  Account level funding includes $1.125B for Construction General (CG), $80M for General Investigations (GI), $2.6B for Operations & Maintenance (O&M) and $200M for the regulatory program. 

The budget proposes a total of $915M in expenditures from the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund (HMTF), a higher level than we've seen proposed in the last few years, but less than the $1B included in the FY2014 omnibus.  For the Inland Waterways Trust Fund (IWTF), the Administration proposes a new annual vessel fee to increase revenues and help fund future capital investments on the inland system.  Details of this proposal have not yet been released.     

The FY2015 budget reflects the Administration's continued focus on the "highest performing projects".   Project highlights for the Northwest include CG funds for the MCR jetty rehab; GI funds for the Seattle Harbor deepening study; and robust O&M funding for high-tonnage projects on the Columbia Snake River System, Oregon coast and Puget Sound.   

Shallow draft or "low use" waterways were again a noticeable omission in the budget, with nearly all of our small projects in the Northwest zeroed out. With the continued ban on earmarks, PNWA will again be advocating for additional funding pots for which our regional projects may compete.  As noted above, our small ports did extremely well in the FY2014 workplan, receiving a total of over $5.5M in additional funds for maintenance dredging.   

See below for more detailed information on all of our supported projects for both FY2014 and FY2015, or click here to download the pdf. 

PNWA continues to read through the President's FY2015 budget and the FY2014 workplan in detail and will work with our colleagues at the Corps to better understand the details of how our projects fared.  We are very appreciative of the continued support of our Northwest Congressional delegation, and our partnership with the Corps of Engineers, to ensure that our navigation projects are maintained, and able to support the economy of the Pacific Northwest.  PNWA will provide additional information on our projects as it is available.