Port of Redwood City Dredging Project Completed

By Mark Edward Nero

Maintenance dredging of the Port of Redwood City’s shipping channel has been completed, thus restoring the channel to its authorized depth of minus-30 feet for the first time in almost two years, the port said in late December.

Maintaining the full depth allows ocean carriers to bring in fuller and more economic loads of cargo needed for construction in the San Francisco Bay/Silicon Valley area, while also facilitating the recycling of scrap metal by exporting to Asia.

The bigger Panamax ships serving the Port of Redwood City and the construction of roads and buildings in the region, require a dependably dredged channel to assure efficient operation.

Dredging, which was performed under the auspices of the US Army Corps of Engineers, was complete in mid-December.

Maintaining and improving America’s marine navigation network is the responsibility of the Army Corps of Engineers, utilizing funds generated by the Harbor Maintenance Tax paid by importers.

Each year the Corps of Engineers and US Congress determine how to allocate these limited funds among the hundreds of navigation projects nationwide.

The port says that in 2016, US Senator Diane Feinstein (D-CA) and Rep. Jackie Speier (D-San Francisco) were instrumental in helping secure $7.9 million in funding for the just completed channel dredging.

Waterways Assn. Announces Award Winners

By Mark Edward Nero

The Pacific Northwest Waterways Association, a nonprofit trade association that advocates for federal policies and funding in support of regional economic development, recently honored five people for their contributions to the Northwest navigation, energy, irrigation and recreation communities.

The recipients of the 2014 Distinguished Service Awards were announced in conjunction with PNWA’s 80th annual convention, which was held Oct. 15-17 in Vancouver, Washington.

This year’s honorees were: Capt. Paul Amos, president of the Columbia River Pilots; Kevin Brice, the deputy district engineer for programs and project management for the US Army Corps of Engineers’ Portland District; Martin Callery, the chief commercial officer for the Port of Coos Bay; Ann Glassley of the US Army Corps of Engineers, Walla Walla District (retired); Port of Everett Executive Director John Mohr; and Port of Portland Executive Director Bill Wyatt.

All were lauded for going “above and beyond the call of duty to support Northwest transportation infrastructure, trade, tourism, and environmental restoration,” according to the PNWA.

Also during its annual convention, the PNWA also announced US Rep. Mike Simpson (R‐ID) as the recipient of the Waterways Association’s 2014 Legislator of the Year award.

“PNWA and its members are especially grateful for his leadership on the House Energy & Water Appropriations Subcommittee, and his support for inland and deep draft navigation on the Columbia Snake River System,” the organization, which represents over 130 public and private sector member organizations in Oregon, Washington, Idaho and California, said in an announcement.

Port of Everett Begins Snohomish River Dredging

By Mark Edward Nero

The Port of Everett, in partnership with the US Army Corps of Engineers, has begun maintenance dredging of the Snohomish River upstream and downstream settling basins.

Boaters in the area are being advised by the two agencies to slow down, pay attention to rig markings and be cautious around the operations.

The $1.3 million project is expected to be done by mid-February according to the Corps, which began maintenance dredging of the Snohomish River Project in 1910. The latest project, consisting of deep and shallow-draft navigation channels and two settling basins, serves the Port of Everett.

On Oct. 27, project contractor Portable Hydraulic Dredging of Eagle Creek, Ore., began dredging in the upstream settling basin, which is where 100,000 cubic yards of material are to be removed and placed on City of Everett property for use by the port and city. About 50,000 cubic yards of downstream dredged material is expected to be put to use nourishing areas on the Port of Everett-owned Jetty Island.

Seattle Port, Corps of Engineers, Sign Harbor Deepening Deal

By Mark Edward Nero

On Sept. 29, the US Army Corps of Engineers and Port of Seattle signed an agreement that moves forward a $3 million cost-shared feasibility study to investigate potential port deepening alternatives.

“The Port of Seattle greatly appreciates the Corps of Engineers in starting this study,” port CEO Tay Yoshitani said. “This is another step in keeping the Pacific Northwest a competitive trade gateway, and keeping thousands of local jobs here.”

In March 2012, a preliminary Corps report found federal interest in potentially deepening Seattle Harbor’s East and West Waterways. The feasibility study, which was signed by Seattle District Commander Col. John Buck and Port of Seattle Chief Executive Officer Tay Yoshitani, is expected to determine if there’s an economically-justifiable alternative.

The Corps and port are to split the cost equally and the study should be complete in three years. When complete, the feasibility report is to include a net benefit analysis and the required National Environmental Policy Act documentation will disclose any environmental effects of deepening the existing channel.

Currently authorized waterway depths are between -34 and -51 feet mean lower low water; the study will investigate to depths of -55 feet MLLW, taking into consideration economics, cost, risk, environmental aspects, cultural resources, fish habitat, endangered species, geotechnical, coastal engineering and cost engineering.

Long Beach Breakwater Suffers Multiple Breaches

By Mark Edward Nero

Hurricane Marie, which caused 10-to 15-foot high wave surges in Southern California in late August, also resulted in three breaches in the breakwater that protects the Port of Long Beach, the Army Corps of Engineers confirmed Sept. 4.

About 200 hundred tons of rocks from the so-called Middle Breakwater were displaced during the storm, and the breeches could grow even larger as additional waves strike and erode the areas, according to the Army Corps.

“The next step is to develop a plan to repair the damage, which ranges from breach to significant damage to moderate damage to minor damage,” Corps of Engineers spokesman Greg Fuderer said.

Hurricane Marie grew into a large and powerful Category 5 storm and moved west-northwestward off the Pacific Coast of Mexico in late August, causing dangerous conditions from the Baja California Peninsula up through Southern California.

The two-mile long Middle Breakwater, which was completed in 1949, was built to protect the US Pacific Fleet and now shields ships entering the Port of Long Beach from large waves.

Hurricane Marie’s 10-15 foot waves resulted in the suspension of vessel operations at two Port of Long Beach marine terminals Aug. 27 after longshore workers were endangered by the surges.

Total Terminals International on Pier T, with two Mediterranean Shipping Co. container ships at berth, and Crescent Terminals on Pier F, with two break-bulk ships including an MOL roll-on/roll-off vessel at berth, were the terminals that temporarily halted work as a result of the waves.

POLA Completes 10-Year Channel Dredging Project

Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, along with elected officials and leaders from the Port of Los Angeles and the US Army Corps of Engineers, marked the completion of a 10-year, $370 million project to deepen the port’s main channel on April 3.

“Completion of this project means that the port will remain competitive globally, and continue to be a strong source for jobs and regional revenue growth for years to come,” Villaraigosa said.

The deepening, which was conducted by the Corps on the port’s behalf, is being touted as a major milestone in the port’s ongoing efforts to assure its continued competitiveness and growth, since it allows LA to continue to accommodate bigger, more modern vessels from around the world.

“Our increased competiveness will strengthen our regional and national economies – resulting in job creation in my district and across the country,” Congresswoman Janice Hahn said during a ceremony held on the rear deck of the USS Iowa floating museum to mark the event.

The project involved deepening of LA’s 45-foot deep Main Channel, West Basin Channel and East Basin Channel to a 53-foot depth. During the course of the decade-long effort, the Corps generated and relocated 15 million cubic yards of dredge materials to various sites throughout the port, some of which was used to construct the 104-acre acre Cabrillo Shallow Water Habitat, providing a replacement habitat and feeding area for fish and marine birds in the outer harbor.

“The number of ships and the volume of goods they will bring, the number of jobs that will result and the economic impact on the local area and throughout the nation are important numbers,” Col. Mark Toy, commander of the US Army Corps of Engineers Los Angeles District, said. “But the true worth of the project is the benefits it will provide for people. Directly or indirectly, locally or nationwide, immediately or in the future, the work we recognize today will benefit the lives of many people.”

EPA Concerned About Port Coal Project

A Port of Morrow, Oregon project that would ship coal to Asia could potentially have significant impacts to both humans and the environment in the area according to a letter sent by the US Environmental Protection Agency to the Army Corps of Engineers, which is overseeing the project.

In a letter sent to the Corps earlier this month, the EPA said it was concerned about potential diesel pollution from the Morrow Pacific project causing damage to people, animals and their surroundings and recommended that the Corps conduct a broad and thorough analysis of any cumulative impacts the project could have.

The Morrow Pacific project is a planned $110 million coal transfer and off-loading facility at the port, which is located on the Columbia River in Morrow County, Oregon. Trains would carry up to eight million tons of coal a year from Montana and Wyoming to barges at the port. The coal would then be transferred to vessels at the Port St. Helens and shipped to Asian countries such as Japan and South Korea.

The facility, which would be run by a subsidiary of Ambre Energy North America, would create 25 jobs with wages and benefits of $2.7 million per year with average salaries of $50,000 to $90,000, according to Ambre.

Morrow Pacific is just one of about eight coal-to-Asia shipping projects in the works or under review in the Pacific Northwest, including at the Port of St. Helens and Port of Coos Bay in Oregon and the Port of Grays Harbor in Washington.

Port of LA Releases APL Terminal Expansion Study

The Port of Los Angeles and US Army Corps of Engineers on Dec. 16 released a draft environmental impact study regarding potential expansion of the port’s second-largest container terminal.

The proposed project at Pier 300’s APL container terminal would involve renovation and expansion of the current 291-acre facility to 347 acres. It calls for the development of 1,250 feet of new wharf and 41 acres of backland at berths 302-306. Among the proposed features are 12 new cranes and shore-side electrical power facilities.

The draft report assesses the proposed improvements and projected container throughput under the current lease term with APL that expires in 2027, as well as the environmental impacts and identifies mitigation measures that meet state and federal regulations.

The public review period for the document is from Dec. 16, 2011 to Feb. 17, 2012. During this time the port accepts written comments and will conduct a public meeting at 6 pm Jan. 19 at the Port of Los Angeles Administration Building to present its findings.

After the public review period, a final version of the environmental report that includes the additional comments from the various agencies and individuals is prepared, and then the document is submitted to state and federal agencies for review and a final decision on whether or not to approve the recommendations within.

Dredging Near Portland Oregon Port Delayed Until 2011

The Army Corps of Engineers has decided to postpone dredging a Willamette River bar that could threaten vessels transiting to two Port of Portland terminals until next summer.

Army Corps officials said that the postponement was due to the lengthy process for obtaining the necessary environmental documents and an impending Oct. 31 deadline to complete in-water work. Oregon state fish regulations bar in-water work in the area from the start of November until July to allow salmon migration.

The bar, located about two miles south of the Columbia River and Willamette River confluence, currently stretches across two-thirds of the navigation channel, according to the Army Corps. Concerns have been raised that vessels could run aground on the bar or cause accidents trying to avoid it. The bar was last dredged in 1989.

The Army Corps said that despite the delay, it would continue to monitor the bar closely and may implement an emergency dredging project before next summer if the situation calls for it.

Two bulk/breakbulk terminals at the Port of Portland sit just south of the bar on the Willamette River. The bar does not affect the port’s remaining two terminals. A third bulk terminal is along the Willamette River, but north of the bar, and the port's lone container terminal sits along the Columbia River just east of the two river's confluence.

Army Corps to Move Forward on SoCal Ports Breakwater Study

The United States Army Corps of Engineers on Monday announced it will move forward with a four-year $8 million feasibility study researching possible reconfigurations of portions of the federal breakwater that protects anchorages for the Port of Long Beach and Los Angeles.

The Army Corps study follows on the heels of a city-sponsored study that listed numerous possible reconfigurations of the 2.5-mile-long eastern-most section of the breakwater ranging in cost from $10 million to more than $300 million.

The main focus of the study to be conducted by the Army Corps will be to determine if the breakwater could be removed or reconfigured to improve water quality and recreational opportunities on the city beaches without negatively impacting port operations. Built in three sections between 1899 and 1949 by the Army Corps, the more than eight-mile-long federal breakwater is the longest man-made breakwater in the world. Built from west to east, the western-most section protects the Port of Los Angeles and the middle section protects the Port of Long Beach.

The eastern-most section, started in 1941 and completed in 1949, faces the city beaches--once renowned for their surf--and was built to provide U.S. Navy vessels with protected anchorages when the city was a key port for the U.S. Pacific Fleet. The area behind the eastern-most section of the breakwater, known as Long Beach Harbor, is now used by the Southern California ports as protected anchorages.

The same section of the breakwater severely diminished wave action and cleansing water currents within Long Beach Harbor, leaving city beaches dirty and unpopular compared to beaches further down the coast and just outside the protective shadow of the breakwater.

Since the Navy departed Long Beach in 1995, opponents of the breakwater have called it unnecessary. Proponents of keeping the breakwater as-is have criticized the cost or altering the breakwater and possible impact on port operations.

The city will be required to provide half of the estimated $8 million cost of the Army Corps study, though some of Long Beach's contribution will be "services-in-kind," reducing the city's cash contribution to just over $3.3 million, according to city officials.

The city's recent study on the breakwater found that bringing back surfable wave action and improved water quality to the city beaches could reap the city more than $52 million a year in increased tourism dollars.