USA: Officials Talk Dredging, Grants

Sen. John Proos, R-St. Joseph, on Tuesday welcomed officials from the city of South Haven to the Michigan Capitol.

Proos and the officials met to discuss numerous issues facing local governments like South Haven and the Southwest Michigan region.

“Record-low water levels in the Great Lakes are beginning to impact the state’s recreational marinas and pose a threat to the state’s billion-dollar tourism industry,” said Proos. “This initiative is about meeting the call for urgent action to help our harbors remain open for boaters – especially in shoreline communities like Southwest Michigan where thousands of families depend on tourism to make ends meet.”

Senate Bill 215 would set up a process to enable privately owned marinas in Michigan to obtain low-interest loans for the purpose of dredging and maintaining the harbor.

“A lack of dredging in Michigan harbors by the federal government is already impacting our economy by forcing ships to carry lighter loads – resulting in increased costs for consumer goods from food to car parts,” Proos said. “While we work on a solution to increase the capacity of our commercial ports, we also need to help solve the problem facing recreational marinas.”

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Press Release, April 12, 2013