NEWS - Construction & Building

By Lou Phelps, SBJ Staff

June 6, 2011 - The President’s fiscal year 2012 Civil Works budget request contains $57,637,000 for projects, studies, and operations and maintenance for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Savannah District. Approval of those funds hang in the balance in Congress this summer.

The President included the funds for the Savannah district in a total civil works request of $4.631 billion he sent to Congress, a budget he states supported his priorities of jobs, a strengthened economy, environmental protection and enhancement, and improved infrastructure. The House and Senate versions of the budget are expected in July – August at the latest – for fiscal year 2012 that begins Oct 1.

The budget request contains an additional $600,000 for Investigations Appropriation for the Savannah Harbor Expansion Project (SHEP) study, funding that will further the harbor deepen process. “The $600,000 would help us complete our approval process,” according to Joyce McDonald, Corporate Communication Officer for the Corps.

A completed study is needed before the Corps can proceed to the construction phase of the harbor deepening, which has been planned for FY 2012.

As the Oct. 1 appropriations process moves forward, the Corps is currently continuing its study of the harbor deepening with FY 2011 funding.

“We will continue to move forward with the project using funds provided to us,” said Col. Jeffrey M. Hall, commander of the Savannah District. “At this time, we still expect to reach a record of decision by the end of this or early next calendar year,” he estimated in February, though the Corps more recently said their final report will be out this Fall.

The President’s budget also supports ongoing operations and maintenance dredging and related actions for the Savannah Harbor, as well as Brunswick Harbor, which primarily provide safe and efficient passage for ships moving goods in and out of the country.

In addition, the budget contains $27.4 million for the continued operations and maintenance of the district’s three multi-purpose dams and lakes along the upper Savannah River Basin. The dams generate 1.4 million megawatt hours of clean energy each year as well as provide flood risk management, fresh water flows to the city of Savannah Authority, and protection to fish and wildlife. The lakes also provide outdoor recreation opportunities to almost 25 million visitors annually.

The budget also contains more than $10.5 million for operations and maintenance of the Hartwell Dam and Lake Project near Hartwell, Ga., and Anderson, S.C. on the upper Savannah River. The J. Strom Thurmond Dam and Lake near Augusta, Ga., received nearly $9.8 million for O & M. The Richard B. Russell Dam and Lake project near Elberton, Ga., was included in the budget request for an additional $3.2 million for the continuation of environmental monitoring and the oversight of one remaining hydropower contract for the installation of the static start system to operate the pump back units inside the dam. The Russell project also received $7.3 million for O & M.

Final amounts of funding for these projects in the Savannah District will depend on the appropriations actions taken by the U.S. Congress over the remainder of this federal fiscal year – and that’s the problem in the current budget crisis.

The Savannah District also receives funds from other parts of the President’s budget that support a multi-billion dollar construction program for soldiers and airmen in Georgia and North Carolina. The District receives additional funds for enforcement of the Clean Water Act and other environmental regulations through other sections of the budget.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Savannah District manages three lakes and hydroelectric dams along the Savannah River. It also oversees a multi-billion dollar military construction program at 12 Army and Air Force installations in Georgia and North Carolina. Corps’ projects range from barracks, hospitals and clinics to equipment shops, headquarters buildings and aircraft hangars. The Savannah District also has oversight and maintains additional civil works projects – from the Savannah and Brunswick harbors to the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway.

National Projects and Funding

Nationally, the Corps continued to execute $5.065 billion in civil works projects approved the end of 2011 when it received the appropriation on April 15 when President Barack Obama signed Public Law 112-10, the Department of Defense and Full-Year Continuing Appropriations Act, 2011.

The Act provided funding to federal agencies through the end of FY11. Title IV of the Act provides funding for energy and water development, including the Civil Works program. The $5.065 billion in FY11 funding includes:

• $2.371 billion for Operation and Maintenance (O&M)

• $1.793 billion for Construction

• $264 million for Mississippi River and Tributaries (MR&T)

• $190 million for the Regulatory Program

• $185 million for Expenses

• $130 million for the Formerly Utilized Sites Remedial Action Program(FUSRAP)

• $127 million for Investigations

• $5 million for the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works

Public Law 112-10 also rescinded $198 million of funds appropriated in previous fiscal years. This included $100 million from the Continuing Authorities Program in Construction, $22 million from MR&T, and $76 million of funds appropriated in FY08 or earlier in a number of appropriations.

The work plan builds on the President’s Fiscal 2011 Budget released on February 1, 2010, and is performance based.

The main civil works mission areas for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers are commercial navigation, flood and coastal storm damage reduction, and aquatic ecosystem restoration, as well as hydropower. The Civil Works program additionally contributes to the protection of the nation's waters and wetlands; the restoration of certain sites contaminated as a result of the nation's early atomic weapons development program; and emergency preparedness and training to respond to natural disasters.

The Savannah District of the Corps released a draft General Re-Evaluation Report and Environmental Impact Statement in Nov. 2010 which proposes to deepen the Savannah Harbor from its current 42-foot depth down to a maximum depth of 48 feet. The report described the Corps’ extensive analysis of the engineering alternatives, environmental impacts, and economic costs and benefits of deepening the Savannah Harbor and shipping channel. Deepening the Savannah Harbor to 47 or 48 feet will bring more than $115 million in annual economic benefits to the United States, primarily by lowering transportation costs. Lower transportation costs can translate into lower consumer product costs.

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