Letter to Mr. Ryan Fisher, Acting Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works - Oregon's Ports

Letter

Dear Mr. Fisher:

As you look ahead to the Fiscal Year 2018 (FY2018) work plan for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' Civil Works program, we encourage you to fund the critical navigation needs of Oregon's small coastal ports. Our harbors along the Oregon coast serve as some of the most vital harbors of refuge in the nation. With our breaking bars, the increasing intensity of storms and unpredictable weather, it is extremely important that our channels be dredged and our jetties maintained to adequately serve the safety of our commercial and recreational fishing fleets, as well as allow for the Search and Rescue activities of our U.S. Coast Guard men and women.

Oregon's coastal navigation infrastructure also supports rural communities in our state. A 2014 State of Oregon study shows that our coastal ports support 15,759 direct/indirect jobs and $904 million to the state GDP[i]. In addition, NOAA's 2015 Fisheries of the U.S. report ranked the State of Oregon seventh in the nation for 2015 domestic fish landings, with 195 million pounds valued at $115.7 million[ii]. Funding for the maintenance of federal navigation infrastructure along the Oregon coast is essential to the success of our fishing fleets and to maintaining a vibrant coastal and national economy.

While the current appropriations process for FY2018 remains incomplete, we believe that based on the process in previous years, there will continue to be significant programmatic funding included for both "small, remote and subsistence harbors" and "deep draft harbors." Oregon's emerging harbors can all compete for funding from one or both of these programmatic accounts and we request that you strongly consider the following for inclusion in your FY2018 work plan:

Project Name

Additional FY2018
Capability

Total FY2018 Request

Skipanon Channel (Port of Astoria)

$123,000

$123,000

Siuslaw River (Port of Siuslaw)

$837,000

$837,000

Umpqua River (Port of Umpqua)

$405,000

$1,326,000

Coquille River (Port of Bandon)

$453,000

$453,000

Rogue River (Port of Gold Beach)

$809,000

$809,000

Chetco River (Port of Brookings Harbor)

$1,029,000

$1,838,000

Tillamook Bay & Harbor (Port of Garibaldi)

$575,000

$575,000

Port of Port Orford
(includes $4,950,000 for breakwater repair)

$6,593,000

$6,593,000

Yaquina Bay & Harbor (Port of Newport)

$0

$3,096,000

Yaquina River (Port of Toledo)

$0

$0

Depoe Bay

$877,000

$877,000

The international trade, recreational boating and commercial fishing taking place out of Oregon ports continues to be a vital asset for our coastal communities, our region and the entire nation. We thank you for your continued consideration of these projects for the FY2018 work plan.

Sincerely,

_____________________________ _____________________________

PETER DeFAZIO RON WYDEN

Member of Congress United States Senator

_____________________________ _____________________________

JEFF MERKLEY EARL BLUMENAUER

United States Senator Member of Congress

_____________________________ _____________________________

KURT SCHRADER SUZANNE BONAMICI

Member of Congress Member of Congress

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