Posted on June 5, 2017
Harbors in Gulfport and Pascagoula are about to get an influx of cash to pay for dredging work. Wednesday, Senator Thad Cochran announced the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will allocate an additional $67.5 million in FY2017 appropriations in Mississippi.
The Army Corps of Engineers Work Plan includes $3 million more for dredging the Gulfport Harbor channel and an additional $1 million for similar work at the Pascagoula Harbor. The additional funding means the Army Corps will have $8.22 million this year for this work in Gulfport, and $2.36 million in Pascagoula. (The underlying appropriations bill also provides $1.81 million for operation and maintenance of the Biloxi Harbor.)
“The Army Corps of Engineers Work Plan invests additional funding provided by Congress on projects that were not included or insufficiently funded in the 2017 budget request. I am pleased the Army Corps will direct significant resources to Mississippi to improve the management and operation of waterways, levees, and public works,” Cochran said.
The Work Plan also includes $3 million in environmental infrastructure funding for the Eastern Jackson County Consolidated Water Reclamation Facility. This Section 219 funding, which was not included in the President’s budget, will support a project to reclaim treated wastewater from Moss Point and Pascagoula to benefit the Jackson County Industrial Park.
When combined with $70 million for Mississippi-specific Army Corps projects funded in the recent Consolidated Appropriations Act, the additional $67.5 million brings total Army Corps funding in Mississippi to more than $136.9 million this fiscal year. The bulk of this funding will support Mississippi River & Tributaries projects.
Source: WLOX
