It may
take some action by Congress to keep the waters of the IntraCoastal
Waterway dredged and navigable.
The President’s proposed budget for the coming fiscal
year does not include any money for maintaining and dredging
739 miles of the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway between Norfolk
and Jacksonville, Florida.
North Carolina has over 300 miles of ICW waters.
Keeping just the NC waters maintained and dredged has cost between
4 and 8 million dollars a year in recent years, according to
the Chris Frabotta, Navigation Project Manager for the Army
Corps of Engineers office in Wilmington.
But if President Bush’s budget were to pass as is, there
would be no funds in the next fiscal year – FY 2005 starts
in October -- for dredging the ICW.
In the past five years, the budget proposed by the White House
was less than the funds the Corps required. Each year, however,
members of Congress voted to provide the necessary money.
This is the first year, however, that the White House proposed
nothing at all in the budget toward maintaining the waterway
in NC, SC, GA. Northern Florida and Southern Virginia.
While Frabotta says he was initially surprised he allows that
the Army Corps, “saw it coming”.
Not Enough Commercial Traffic
That’s because, he says, the decision to maintain a particular
waterway is based on how much commercial traffic plies those
waters. The formula demands a waterway carry a billion tons
per mile each year he says, and the waterway between Norfolk
and north Florida carries about a fifth of that.
Though a lot of commercial fishing boats ply those waters, the
catches of the fishermen aren’t considered commercial
cargo by this formula and don’t count toward the one billion
ton figure.
That said, parts of the ICW in NC do see more traffic than others,
according to Frabotta. One relatively busy area is the Pamlico
Sound and NE North Carolina where barges carry loads from a
Chowan River steel plant and from the PCS phosphate plant on
the Pamlico River to the port at Morehead City. Because of that
relatively heavy use, the Corps works to maintain those channel
levels at 12 feet.
But without money in the budget, the dredging is less of a sure
thing both there and elsewhere in NC’s ICW waters.
Some who’ve raised concerns about the President’s
plan have pointed to an existing problem on the ICW near Lockwood’s
Folly (between Holden Beach and Oak Island.) Depths of four
feet have been recorded. By some accounts this has caused deeper
draft boats to wait hours for tidal risings before they could
pass through.
Having money in the Atlantic Intracoastal Water Way budget for
maintenance would help to dredge Lockwood’s Folly. But
restored funding for dredging on the AIWW alone might not fix
Lockwood’s Folly.
Inlets Also Left Out
The Army Corps of Engineers notes that the shoaling at Lockwood’s
Folly may be caused by the nearby inlet on the Atlantic Ocean.
Inlet maintenance is another task for the Corps of Engineers.
It’s a separate budget item. It’s also in question
as the President’s budget includes no funds for maintaining
6 of North Carolina’s 7 inlets.
One NC inlet that would get funding is Oregon Inlet in the northern
Outer Banks.
A spokeswoman for the Corps in Wilmington says the President’s
budget called for more than 6 million dollars for work at Oregon
Inlet and $123,000 for locks and dams on the Cape Fear River.
Action of Congress Has Restored
Funding Before
In past years, when Presidential budgets have fallen short of
what the Corps needed for dredging, members of Congress have
modified the budget and provided the necessary monies.
That tactic may be in play again. Several groups representing
commercial fishermen and recreational boaters are leading a
campaign to ask members of congress to do so again. In particular
they are targeting the chairmen of committees that weigh in
on the Corps of Engineers budget.
Democrat Mike McIntyre represents the district along the ICW
between Surf City and the SC line. Republican Representative
Walter Jones represents the district along the waterway from
Surf City to the Virginia line.
The US House and Senate are expected to take up the budget proposal
this summer. Committees will likely be meeting before then.
The new Fiscal Year starts in October.
Learn
More / What You Can Do
A few groups
have launched a grassroots campaign to restore the funding.
One route they are taking is to contact the members of Congress
responsible for the budget for the Corps of Engineers and dredging.
For that information go to:
Waterway Radio and Cruising Club www.waterwayradio.net
Atlantic
Intracoastal Waterway Association www.atlintracoastal.org
Two members of Congress represent districts along the ICW in
NC:
Congressman Walter Jones
800-351-1697
202-225-3415
Email form at this link: http://jones.house.gov/html/contact_email.html
Congressman Mike McIntyre
910-815-4543
202-2225-2731
Email mcintyre@mail.house.gov
