The Port of ClevelandCLEVELAND, Ohio -- Cleveland's port authority would like to locally handle its sediment disposal from harbor dredging instead of having it handled by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, its CEO told a congressional transportation subcomittee today.
The Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority wants to reuse material dredged from the harbor instead of disposing of it in landfills along the city's downtown waterfront, but is facing delays because of the Army Corps of Engineers approval process, port authority President and CEO William D. Friedman told the House Water Resources and the Environment Subcommittee.
The landfills are approaching capacity, and Friedman said "the clock is ticking" to find another way to handle dredged material. The dirt could be sold to developers for use in construction, for brownfield remediation, or to restore beaches, he said.
"We are prepared to commit local dollars, seek contributions from private beneficiaries, and take over project management from the Corps," Friedman said. "However, the Corps authorities, rules and practices make this an extraordinarily difficult and years-long process."
Friedman said Congress should rewrite water management legislation to let non-federal sponsors directly manage dredging and other navigation projects without waiting for the Corps to handle it.
"We believe ports and local sponsors are in many cases best positioned to manage harbor maintenance and improvement projects," Friedman said. "This will save scarce public dollars, get projects online faster and ultimately drive job creation by making our nation more competitive."
He also urged Congress to promote more shipping between the U.S. and Canada and set up a federal standard for treatment of ballast water, which can spread invasive species between water bodies.
According to Friedman, maritime commerce in Greater Cleveland supports almost 18,000 jobs and more than $1 billion in yearly paychecks cashed.
Members of Congress on the subcommittee from both political parties said the Army Corps' harbor dredging program is inadequately funded. The committee's Republican Chairman, Ohioan Bob Gibbs of Holmes County, accused the Obama administration of shortchanging dredging, while its top Democrat, New York's Timothy Bishop, attributed problems to GOP budget cuts.
View full sizeThe Army Corps of Engineers dredges near the mouth of the Cuyahoga River in 2005."Addressing the infrastructure needs of the nation's ports is not about economic benefits to a few shipping companies," said Gibbs. "It is about keeping American farms and businesses competitive and growing American jobs."
The Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works said the Army Corps' $758 million dredging budget for next year is comparable to its 2010 spending "in a year in which the overall budget for the civil works program is 15 percent lower and funding for many programs government-wide is being reduced in order to put the nation on a fiscally sustainable path."
"Maintenance work generally is focused more on the most heavily used commercial channels, which together carry about 90 percent of the total commercial cargo traveling through our coastal ports," said Assistant Secretary Jo-Ellen Darcy. "However, many ports will experience draft limitations on vessels due to channel conditions, at least during parts of the year."