USA: Congresswoman Celebrates Completion of New Haven Dredging

Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (CT-3) joined Judi Sheiffele, Executive Director of the New Haven Port Authority and Colonel Charles Samaris of the U.S. Army Corps to celebrate the impending completion of New Haven inner harbor maintenance dredging.

The project, critical for local businesses, is due to be completed February 14. DeLauro played a crucial role in obtaining federal funding for the project.

“New Haven’s port is an integral component of our regional economy, and a key connection in our local business and transportation networks. Hurricanes Sandy and Irene both displaced huge amounts of sand and sediment and made this maintenance dredging an imperative. Had it not been performed, we would have seen a negative impact on jobs and economic activity in this area. But because we took action, the big ships can keep moving through New Haven without interruption and everyone at the port, and who relies on it, can stay hard at work,” DeLauro said.

In 2012, DeLauro wrote to the then-head of President Obama’s budget office, urging him to include $10 million for dredging in the President’s 2014 budget request. The vast majority of that, $8.6 million, was subsequently included in that document. The 2011 and 2012 hurricane seasons significantly degraded the shipping channels; consequently, they needed 800,000 cubic yards of sediment dredged to restore the shipping channels to their federally authorized depth (35 feet) and width (400-800 feet).

Without that dredging, terminal operators might have had to severely limit the flow of cargo.

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Press Release, February 10, 2014