The Bush Administration has proposed a budget request of $31.8 million for the Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation in Fiscal Year 2009, which begins on October 1, 2008. The request includes the first year of a 10-year plan to reinvest in the Seaway’s infrastructure.

The money would allow the corporation to begin making capital investments in its lock and channel infrastructure as well as in equipment, machinery, buildings and roads.

The administration cited the Seaway’s reliability and its enviable reputation for safety and dependability. The administration also conceded that, after almost 50 years of continuous use, the Seaway’s infrastructure needs significant capital investments

The administration’s plan would support the engineering considerations highlighted in the November 2007 binational Great Lakes St. Lawrence Seaway Study. The study of the U.S. and Canadian Great Lakes Seaway system assessed the economic, environmental and engineering implications of those needs pertaining to commercial navigation.

The administration says it has determined that reinvesting in the Seaway is money well spent.

Reception is mixed
Maritime officials on the western end of the Great Lakes applaud reinvesting in the Seaway, but at the same time they see the administration’s budget as falling far short of the needs beyond the Seaway.

“The good news is that on the east end of the waterway, the president’s budget is supporting serious maintenance renewal at the Snell and Eisenhower locks,” said Adolph Ojard, executive director of the Duluth Seaway Port Authority. “Almost 35 million metric tons transit these locks in an average year. The performance and reliability of these locks is critical to the Port of Duluth-Superior and the Great Lakes.

“The Seaway assets are 50 years old, and while no major failures have occurred, future failure and disruption of vessel traffic are a given unless a major renovation is undertaken. We applaud the St. Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation and the president for recognizing the value and the need for maintaining the Seaway. That realization must now include the Great Lakes.”

Mr. Ojard said, “I have had an opportunity to review the president’s dredging budget for the Great Lakes and see it as woefully inadequate. The plan for the Duluth-Superior harbor creates a $2 million shortfall.

“A total of $6.9 million has been identified as necessary for 2009,” Mr. Ojard said, “and $4.9 million has been proposed. Harbor maintenance projects have been cut by $1.2 million, while maintenance and planning for the harbor’s critical dredge disposal program received no support at all — an omission of $570,000.”

Daniel L. Smith, national executive vice president of American Maritime Officers, said, “The Great Lakes have been plagued by inadequate funding for maintenance for decades.” He added that Great Lakes ports will suffer if the president’s budget is approved as presented. Although $140 million was approved for 2008 dredging, the Bush administration has proposed a 35.5 percent reduction for 2009. At least $170 million a year is needed to stay current with navigation issues.

Congressman Jim Oberstar (D-Minn.) was highly critical of the president’s plan. “In his 2009 budget, proposal President Bush has held to the same short-sighted vision and misguided priorities that have led him astray throughout his administration,” Mr. Oberstar said.

“In December, Congress voted to override his veto of the Water Resources Development Act, authorizing critical investments in projects like a second lock at Sault Ste. Marie. WRDA also requires the Army Corps of Engineers to dredge and maintain navigation channels across the Great Lakes.

“The president’s budget does not include one single dollar for the projects Congress authorized in WRDA. In fact, he went one step further and cut the Army Corps of Engineers overall budget by 16 percent and proposed gutting the Corps construction account with a 47 percent cut,” Mr. Oberstar said.