Port of Los Angeles: $58 million for harbor maintenance works

Port of Los Angeles will receive an estimated $58 million in federal funding this year for maintaining its harbor channels and repairing its wharves, USACE said.

“We started this fight in 2011 with my amendment in the Transportation Committee to provide relief to donor ports, such as Los Angeles and Long Beach,” said Rep. Grace Napolitano.

“It has been a long time coming working with other ports around the country, the Army Corps of Engineers, and several Presidential Administrations to finally pass the donor port amendment into law as a part of the Water Resources Development Act of 2020.“

“It took further work by the great leadership of the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, and my colleagues in Congress to implement the donor port provision and provide this fairness in funding to Southern California,” Napolitano added.

The Port of Los Angeles said that they estimate the total need for navigation maintenance and repair projects at $6.7 billion.

In addition to dredging, pending projects include seismic safety upgrades, wharf and fender repairs, pile replacements, sediment removal and remediation, and improvements to slips and channels. 

The Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund is administered by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Importers pay a 0.125% tax on the value of their cargo to fund maintenance projects on the nation’s navigable waterways to ensure the safe flow of commerce.