The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will spend $68.8 million to dredge the Calcasieu Ship Channel, perform much needed repairs on the dredge disposal areas, control erosion on the channel sides and perform other deferred maintenance of channel features.
For fiscal years 2003 through 2009, the Port of Lake Charles had requested a total of $184 million for badly need dredging and maintenance of the Calcasieu Ship Channel, says Port Director R. Adam McBride. The Ship Channel received only 50% of what was actually needed to keep the channel dredged and maintained at its 40-foot design and authorized depth.
“What is so important about this announcement is that the administration and Congress are now beginning to understand the great importance of the Calcasieu waterway,” McBride says.
Channing Hayden, director of navigation and security for the Port of Lake Charles says that In conjunction with the $68.8 million allocated by the federal government, the State of Louisiana and Calcasieu Parish have allocated an additional $26.2 million to use material dredged from the ship channel during Corps maintenance operations to build approximately 1 square mile of marsh in Cameron Parish. Says Hayden: “This project will be the first one in the state to rebuild wetlands using material dredged from a navigation channel during normal maintenance.”
“Thanks to several hurricane supplemental spending bills passed by Congress and the Administration’s stimulus plan, the Calcasieu Ship Channel is now funded at 100% of its needs from fiscal years 2003 to 2009,” McBride says. “This $68.8 million is the silver lining of a dark cloud that is still over the channel. The fiscal year 2010 budget submitted by the Administration and under consideration by Congress only has $17.9 million for the Ship Channel but the channel needs $40 million to be maintained properly. The Port and the Harbor Safety Committee still have much work to do.”
The Lake Charles Harbor and Terminal District is the 11th largest Port District in the United States and is located on the Calcasieu Ship Channel in Southwest Louisiana.
