Letter to Lieutenant General Robert L. Van Antwerp, Commanding General, US Army Corps of Engineers

Letter

Schumer: Shallowing of the Esopus Creek Threatens to Prevent Coast Guard Cutter from Patrolling the Hudson, Keeping the Waterway Open for Business - Calls on Army Corps to Dredge Before Time Runs Out

U.S. Coast Guard Cutter, Based On The Esopus In Saugerties, Is In Danger Of Being Stuck Or Forced To Relocate To New Jersey As The Creek Gets More & More Shallow

In Letter To Head Of Army Corps, Schumer Asks USACE To Prioritize Dredging Project -- Cutter Patrols The Hudson, Ensures It Will Remain An Economic Highway For Upstate NY

Schumer: We Need To Free Up Funds & Tap The Under-Used Harbor Maintenance Fund To Dredge The Esopus Before It's Too Late

Today, U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer called on the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to dredge the Esopus Creek near Saugerties in order to ensure that the U.S. Coast Guard cutter stationed there can continue its missions along the Hudson River. The Coast Guard Cutter (CGC) Wire is in danger of being stuck in its current location or forced to move to New Jersey, and unable to easily move into the Hudson River as the creek becomes shallower and shallower each day.

Other possible host sites within New York would need significant preparatory work and require additional funding in order to be ready to serve as a port for the cutter. Sediment is building up on the bottom of the creek, making it unsafe to take the Wire out of its docking location and into the Hudson. The Wire serves a number of essential purposes. It is involved in search and rescue missions, works with local law enforcement, and serves as a visual deterrence against illegal shipping occurring on the Hudson, according to the Coast Guard. During the winter, the cutter is one of several employed to break up ice along the Hudson River, ensuring that deliveries of petroleum, heating oil, and other products can reach their intended destinations further Upstate. Last winter, nearly half a billion dollars of products were shipped by the Hudson via tug or barge.

"The Hudson River is an economic lifeline, from Westchester to the North Country, and to keep that path clear we need this Coast Guard cutter to be based centrally on the Esopus Creek -- which is why we need to dredge the silt-filled creek ASAP," said Schumer. "Every winter, hundreds of millions of dollars in heating oil and other products are transported on the river, which is all made possible by Coast Guard cutters like the Wire. The cutter also patrols the river and provides a helping hand to local law enforcement when duty calls. But all of that is at risk, as the Esopus gets shallower and shallower every day, threatening to lock the cutter in its port where it's powerless to help. The Army Corps needs to dredge the Esopus so that this cutter doesn't get stuck in the mud or forced to find a new home, but rather is free to keep us safe and continue to ensure that the Hudson remains an economic lifeline."

The CGC Wire is a sixty five foot long harbor tug that is part of the Aids to Navigation Team at Saugerties. Because the shores of the Hudson River are so shallow, the Wire is one of three CGCs that is capable of navigating its waters. In the nearly ten years since 9/11, the boat has been involved in a number of homeland security missions, executing a role that no other military service could provide. The cutter is essential to the Coast Guard's operations in the Hudson, but its role is threatened by the rising levels of sediment in the Esopus Creek. In order to get from its port in Saugerties to the Hudson, the Wire must travel down the Esopus, but shoaling at the point where the creek meets the river is causing water levels to fall, to levels between 2.3 and 4.4 feet. These levels threaten the cutter's safe passage, and without dredging in the near future, the cutter could be unable to travel from its home port to the river it is intended to serve.

The USACE considers the Esopus to be a low-use waterway, and has therefore not given dredging projects in the creek high priority. Schumer argues that this dredging is tied to the economic future of the Hudson, a major transportation artery in the Northeast, and is clearly of great benefit to the region. The Hudson's continued role as an economic waterway depends in part on its ability to remain both safe and passable year-round -- two missions supported by the Wire. Based on the Wire's key role in the Hudson River's ability to continue to serve major shipping needs, Schumer believes the Esopus dredging project should be completed as soon as possible.

The USACE has estimated that this dredging project will cost approximately $3.3 million. In order to secure more funding for projects like these, Schumer is pushing for passage of the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund Act. The bipartisan bill would provide the USACE access to billions in funds collected in the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund each year. The Trust Fund was established in 1986 in order to fund operations and maintenance of federal ports and harbors, and is funded by the Harbor Maintenance fee that is charged on imports and domestic cargo. Despite the fact that shippers are paying the fee that is supposed to go towards port dredging and maintenance, this money is not being sent out of the fund to serve its intended purpose. As a result, the Trust Fund has a current balance of $5.7 billion -- in the meantime, our ports are filling with sediment and in desperate need of infrastructure upgrades. Similar problems plagued the Highway Trust Fund, as well as the Airports and Airways Trust Fund, but were corrected with Congressional action that more closely tied revenues to expenditures. Continuing to charge this fee without using those revenues to improve harbor accessibility and safety is unfair. The bill that Schumer supports would link incoming revenues with expenditures on dredging and port maintenance projects, so that the money plus interest coming in each year would actually be allocated each year to improve our ports, rather than sitting in the Treasury.

The full text of Senator Schumer's letter to Lieutenant General Robert L. Van Antwerp appears below:

May 23, 2011

Lieutenant General Robert L. Van Antwerp
Commanding General
US Army Corps of Engineers
441 G. Street, NW
Washington, DC 20314-1000

Dear Lieutenant General Van Antwerp:

It has come to my attention that lack of dredging in Esopus Creek in Saugerties, New York is posing a risk to the continued operation of the Coast Guard Cutter Wire. I urge the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) to act quickly to take the necessary actions to restore the creek to a safe depth for the cutter to traverse.

The CGC Wire is a 65' harbor tug homeported at the Aids to Navigation Team (ANT) unit in Saugerties, NY. The Wire is vital to New York's winter ice breaking fleet and helps keep the Hudson River open to commercial navigation. This cutter provides an invaluable service to more than twenty million people who rely on Hudson River shipping to deliver heating oil, petroleum and other essential goods. In addition, the Wire aids in search and rescue missions, works with local law enforcement and helps deter potential smuggling.

I am concerned by reports that shoaling at the entrance to the Esopus Creek, where the Wire is homeported, could prevent the Wire from making safe passage to and from its homeport in the near future. For this reason, it is imperative that USACE take the necessary steps to restore the creek to a safe depth for the Wire. It is my understanding that this project has not been prioritized by USACE because Esopus Creek is considered a low-use waterway. However, the cutter is vital to the navigation and safety of the Hudson River which is a major transportation artery in the Northeast and this fact must be taken into consideration when prioritizing funding.

Thank you for your attention to this urgent request. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact my Washington office.

Sincerely,

Charles E. Schumer

United States Senator

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