Carl Levin: Clearing the Way for Great Lakes Shipping

August 6, 2007 - "The Great Lakes have a problem. Freighters are getting stuck in Great Lakes shipping channels, and they need tugboats to turn them around. Many boats can’t reach their docking sites, other ships are carrying reduced loads, and some shipments have simply ceased altogether.

For example, one freighter ran aground in the Saginaw River last year and its rudder was torn off and never found. And shipping at the Wirt Stone Dock in Buena Vista Township has dropped by a whopping 25 percent.

What’s behind this problem, which is hurting Michigan’s economy? There is an enormous backlog in dredging the lakes. Dredging is the process of removing sediment that builds up in shipping channels and prevents ships from getting through. It is a routine and necessary practice but requires constant vigilance.

In recent years, Great Lakes dredging has not been adequately funded, and according to the Army Corps of Engineers, there is currently a backlog of 16 million cubic yards that needs to be dredged.

This dredging backlog has been made much worse by historically low water levels in the Great Lakes. Lake Superior, for example, has dropped to its lowest level in 81 years.

This situation is simply not sustainable. Every year, hundreds of millions of tons of goods are transported through the Great Lakes waterways. Freighters carry steel for our automobiles, limestone for the construction industry, and coal to provide electricity for homes and manufacturing plants, among many other products and resources needed nationwide.

Recently, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers reported that the Great Lakes system needs about $200 million for dredging each year. But the Great Lakes are being short-changed by about half that amount every year.

Part of the problem is that the Corps’ budget nationwide has not been sufficiently funded, but the shortfall for the Great Lakes is also due to how that money is prioritized. In recent years, the Army Corps has prioritized dredging projects based primarily on the amount of tonnage a harbor processes, shortchanging ports that handle less than one million tons of cargo per year.

That is simply unfair. Almost half of the commercial harbors in the Great Lakes handle less than one million tons of cargo each year, and two-thirds of all shipping in the United States either starts or finishes at small harbors like these. Many of the communities surrounding smaller ports depend on shipping activity much more than at larger ports.

Manistee Harbor on Lake Michigan, for example, is classified as a small harbor because it handles “only” 940,000 tons of cargo. Yet multiple companies rely on this harbor, including Morton Salt, and fully 10 percent of the local population is economically dependent on the port.

I’m working on a number of fronts to secure the resources for the dredging we need. I am working closely with the Senate Appropriations Committee to obtain the necessary funding. The appropriations bill passed by the Committee in June includes $53 million for operation and maintenance of Great Lakes shipping channels, including dredging. That’s $15.6 million more than last year and $13.5 million more than the President requested. As the bill continues to make its way through Congress, I will continue to fight hard for this funding.

Working with my colleagues, I also added a provision to the Water Resources Development Act that would direct the Secretary of the Army to expedite the maintenance and dredging of important navigational channels within the Great Lakes. That bill has been passed by the Senate and is very close to becoming law. I have also personally urged the Army Corps of Engineers to dredge Great Lakes harbors and channels.

It will be slow and difficult work to get the Great Lakes navigation infrastructure rehabilitated, but it needs to be done. Right now, the biggest ships are each leaving more than 8,000 tons of cargo behind on the docks so they won’t get stuck in shipping channels that haven’t been dredged. Eight thousand tons is enough coal to provide three hours of electricity in Detroit or enough steel for 6,000 cars. With Michigan’s economy already suffering from the loss of manufacturing jobs, we can’t afford to lose the economic activity from shipping on the Great Lakes. Adequate funding for dredging and more equitable treatment of smaller ports can make the difference. "

Source: Senator Carl Levin

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