It’s the first time that the US Army Corps of Engineers have purposefully budgeted funds to build a new lock at Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. The funding was announced in the agency’s Fiscal Year 2020 budget which was published on March 12.
Although the agency didn’t gain any budgets for the project last year, the Congress rose the Corp’s budget.
In the meantime, $32.38 million of those extra funds were assigned to the project to begin first-year construction. The State of Michigan provided $52 million to the project, as well.
Agency officials reported that the second-year construction will require $84.1 million in FY 2020. For this purpose, the Congress might provide additional funds to the project to fully-fund second-year constructions. On the other hand, the Corps has the option to deploy remaining contributions from the State of Michigan.
Moreover, the authorized project costs $922 million, with its contruction expected to last 10 years.
As both the Corps and the Congress continue to fund the project on schedule, costs are expected to remain within estimates.
Yet, if the future funding won’t be forthcoming, the project cost could skyrocket due to delays and inflation.
Generally, the budget includes $4.827 billion in gross discretionary funding for the civil works program of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, a 31% cut from the FY19 appropriated amount of $7.0 billion.
As Mike Toohey, Waterways Council Inc. President and CEO commented
Not unexpected based on past Office of Management and Budget requests from any Administration, the FY20 proposal is still very disappointing considering the President’s many positive pronouncements on the importance of infrastructure investment.
New federal funding in the Civil Works budget consists of $3.753 billion from the General Fund of the Treasury, $965 million from the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund (HMTF), $56 million from the Inland Waterways Trust Fund (IWTF), and an estimated $54 million from Special Recreation User Fees.
The FY 2020 funding will be distributed among the appropriations accounts:
- $1.930 billion for Operation and Maintenance (O&M)
- $1.170 billion for Construction
- $965 million for Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund (HMTF)
- $210 million for Mississippi River and Tributaries (MR&T)
- $200 million for the Regulatory Program
- $187 million for Expenses
- $77 million for Investigations
- $56 million for Inland Waterways Trust Fund (IWTF)
- $27 million for Flood Control and Coastal Emergencies
- $5 million for the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works
In addition, the budget includes $2.308 billion for the study, design, construction, operation and maintenance of inland and coastal navigation projects.
The investigations account includes funding to complete one pre-construction engineering and design (Mobile Harbor, AL), and three dredged material management plans (Buffalo Harbor, NY, Cleveland Harbor, OH and Corpus Christi Ship Channel, TX).
Four construction projects are funded to completion in the budget:
- Three commercial navigation projects – Charleston Harbor, SC;
- Locks and Dams 2, 3, and 4, Monongahela River, PA;
- Melvin Price Lock and Dam (Deficiency Correction), IL & MO;
- One aquatic ecosystem restoration project – Mud Mountain Dam, WA.
The FY 2020 O&M program as a whole is funded at $3.025 billion, including $1.930 billion in the O&M account, $947 million in the HMTF account and $148 million in the MR&T account. The budget emphasizes performance of existing projects by focusing on supporting current traffic levels at coastal harbors and inland waterways with the most commercial traffic.
The next step is for Congress to hold hearings on the budget proposal and then develop appropriations legislation to enact these amounts into law.