Guarded welcome for US$1bn dredging budget

Such a fund is growing at a rate of about US$1bn per year and is estimated will reach more than US$9bn by the end of the fiscal year 2014.

In May, the Association sent letters to lawmakers in both the House and the Senate urging them to guarantee full utilisation of HMT revenues to achieve efficient 21st century freight movement in the country’s ports.  The AAPA noted that low appropriations had resulted in a navigation system in which channels are not being maintained to their constructed depths and widths, despite adequate taxes being collected.

However, for the second year running, the US House Energy & Water Subcommittee approved US$1bn from the Harbour Maintenance Trust Fund as part of the US Army Corps of Engineers’ fiscal 2014 funding.  The appropriation is US$110m more than the Administration requested in its 2014 budget earlier this year, however, the annual revenue collected for maintenance dredging is approximately US$1.6bn.