WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Representative Bill Delahunt hailed House passage of the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) last Thursday, calling it a “critical step in bringing back the Army Corps and dredging funds to small coastal harbors.”

“This is a big win for fishermen and mariners throughout New England.  Today’s vote reverses a Bush Administration policy that halted the dredging of small harbors and waterways including most on the Cape and Islands and along the South Shore,” Delahunt said today.

The WRDA bill that passed the House is a comprehensive legislative proposal that authorizes the Army Corps of Engineers to undertake dredging and navigation projects around the country.  The legislation also includes numerous technical adjustments as well as changes in harbor boundaries.  The legislation that passed the House included numerous provisions authored by Delahunt that boost a number of local projects.  

More importantly, the House adopted an amendment authored by Delahunt, Bart Stupak and Pete Hoekstra that reverses a Bush administration policy to cut off Army Corps dredging assistance to small harbors.  The Bush policy required Army Corps officials to use cargo tonnage figures to determine which harbors get dredged. This policy placed small recreational and commercial harbors at a competitive disadvantage in securing scarce dollars for maintenance dredging.  As a result, Delahunt has waged a fierce battle in the Congress to reverse this policy, while also working to add funds for numerous small harbor navigation improvements, such as Green Harbor in Marshfield, Sesuit Harbor in Dennis, and projects in Chatham, Harwich, Cuttyhunk and on Martha’s Vineyard.

On Thursday, Delahunt said “the Administration's policy to base dredging decisions on cargo tonnage discriminates against small harbors throughout the country. This policy hurts small coastal towns since it ignores the significant economic benefits associated with ferry traffic, commercial fishing and recreational boating activity in smaller ports.”

Last year, Delahunt had to fight for funds to dredge the Fore River channel, where the region’s heating oil supplies are delivered.  Delahunt is currently embroiled in a similar effort to expand the Woods Hole channel so that oceanographic research vessels can safely navigate to government and private research facilities.  Failure to dredge the channel could mean NOAA may no longer be able to home port its fisheries research vessels in Woods Hole.

Delahunt argued to his colleagues “that the Corps of Engineers is responsible for maintaining 171 ports and harbors in New England.  They do a good job.  Yet how can they succeed if their hands are tied and they are given only enough funding to do just one project.  There isn’t even enough money to maintain Boston Harbor or the Cape Cod Canal, waterways that handle a significant volume of oil and hazardous cargo.  The failure to maintain them is another disaster waiting to happen.”  

The measure passed the House by a vote of 394 to 25 and now goes on to the Senate for action.  Delahunt vowed to work closely with Senators Kennedy and Kerry in winning final passage of WRDA.

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