Deep Water Portsand Harbors

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EEconomyconomyPPortsorts aanndd HarboHarborrssValue of U.S. Ports and Harbors

US Army Corps of EngineersUS Army Corps of Engi

very day the work taking place at ournation’s ports and harbors impacts our

lives. For example, more than 95 percent ofoverseas trade moves in and out of the UnitedStates by ship.

Our nation’s ports and harbors serve as anentry point for everything from the gas thatruns our cars, to the food on our tables, to thecomputers in our offices. They also are an exitpoint for imports to other nations.

Our ports and hto participation iproviding the naand businessesaccess to worldmarkets.

In fact, virtually all ofour jobs depend inone form or anotheron the free flow ofgoods through U.S.ports and harbors.

arbors are America’s gatewayn the global economy,tion’s farmers, manufacturerswith convenient, affordable

he mission of the U.S. Army Corps ofngineers navigation program is tonsure that water traffic can move safely,eliably and efficiently in and out ofhese ports and harbors with minimalmpact upon the environment.

n partnership with local port authorities,he Corps spends nearly $1.5 billion

annually on operations,maintenance andconstruction projectsfor hundreds ofchannels and harborsnationwide.

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Value to the Economy

Even in this era of instant ordering and real-time communication we still need to move

goods from Point A to Point B and beyond. Inthe majority of cases the most cost-efficient,environmentally friendly way to do so is by ship.

The transport of goods by water is one ofthe most efficient means of freighttransportation. The extensive use ofwaterborne shipping helps to keep thecosts of durable, bulk and consumer goodsaffordable for businesses and consumers.

Our nation’s ports and harbors are a crucialcomponent of our shipping system and alinchpin of our economy, allowing America toremain one of the world’s largest trading nations.

For example, did you know that…

• The U.S. marine transportation industrysupports nearly $2 trillion in commerce andcreates employment for more than 13 millionpeople.

• U.S. ports and harbors handle more than 2.5billion short tons of domestic and foreigncommerce.

• Every day, 12 million barrels of oil to heat ourhomes and businesses, and fuel our cars, areimported into the United States by ship.

• Over 70 percent of imported oil comesthrough harbors maintained by the Corps.

• More than 48 percent of consumer goodsbought by Americans pass through harborsmaintained by the Corps.

The Corps isproud to playan important rolein guaranteeingthe effectiveoperation of ournation’s ports andharbors and thesmooth flow ofcommercethrough them.

BenefitsBenefitsEnvironmentEnvironment

US Army Corps of EngineersUS Army Corps of Engineers

Value to the Environment

D redged material is one of the majorby-products of Corps efforts to keep

our ports working effectively. Corps personnelconsistently work to identify environmentallybeneficial ways to use dredged material fromharbor maintenance projects.

Corps personnel carefully consider theenvironmental impact of each construction ordredging project they undertake. During theplanning phase, we conduct computer modelingto project the potential impact of proposedchanges and make adjustments as needed beforework even begins. We also conduct dredgingoperations during “environmental windows,“which are time periods when disruption tomarine species can be minimized.

For instance, dredged material has been usedby the Corps to enhance wildlife habitats bycreating nesting islands for waterfowl. Fisheriesalso have been improved by mounding dredgedmaterial to establish fish refuge habitats.

One of the key uses of dredged material,though, is to create, preserve and restorewetlands. These projects areparticularly important because of thecrucial role wetlands play in ourenvironment, providing homes forthousands of plants, fish and wildlife,including many species that areendangered. Wetlands also serve asrest stops for migratory birds, helpprevent flooding and control erosion.

Did you know that…

Shipping goods by waterresults in far fewerpollutants being emittedinto the air than otherforms of transportation.

Balancing the Benefits

betweenW hen undertaking harbor studies the

Corps strives to find the proper balancesociety’s needs for economic growth

and environmental protection.

Port of LosAngeles/BatiquitosLagoon

To accommodate larger international containerships, the Corps worked with several agenciesto dredge new and deeper navigation channelsat the Port of Los Angeles. The dredged materialwas used to construct a new pier in the outerharbor to allow for construction of additionalcargo terminals.

These changes have enabled the Port of LosAngeles to keep up with the demands placedupon it by its ever-expanding role as a linchpinof America’s participation in the global economy.Los Angeles is the seventh largest port in the

world handling containerized shipping. It is aregular host to the Marsk S class, the world’slargest container ship. Overall, the port handlesover $100 billion in cargo annually, including anarray of manufactured and consumer goods fromthe Pacific Rim.

The dredging of the port has been a tremendouseconomic success, but it also had an impact onmarine life in the area. To offset this impact, theCorps and other agency partners dredged the

inlet to nearbyBatiquitos Lagoon,opening it up tothe ocean for thefirst time since the1930s. Marinefish have returnedin record numbersand the salt marshhas beenrevitalized by thetidal exchange.

The Batiquitos Lagoon EnhancementProject is one of the largest restorationprojects completed in America.

ChallengesChallengesChallengesChallenges

US Army Corps of EngineersUS Army Corps of Engineers

Tomorrow’s Challenges

Many challenges lie ahead for those whooperate and maintain the nation’s ports

and harbors and the companies and individualsthat rely upon them for livelihoods.

The good news is that in the next 20 yearsexperts predict a 65 percent increase in theamount of cargo transported by container ships.Containerized trade is the fastest gsegment of the economy,doubling every 10 years, whichmeans a steady increase in thenumber of vessels calling onU.S. ports. In turn, that meansmore jobs and a strongereconomy.

rowing

However, many of the world’s marinetransportation companies are beginning to usecontainer ships that require channel depth of upto 55 feet. Very few U.S. ports have sufficientdepth for these ships. Many nearby ports inCanada and the Bahamas can accommodateships of this size. America runs the risk of losingimports and jobs in the years ahead to these

ports. To address this challenge, the Corpsand other organizations have undertaken asystematic effort to modernize and upgrade thenation’s ports and harbors to keep pace withthese larger vessels.

This effort received a boost with the passage ofthe 2009 American Recovery and ReinvestmentAct (ARRA). Overall, ARRA made available $4.6

billion for “shovel-ready” Corps CivilWorks projects.Part of this fundings being used forchannel-deepeningprojects in keyports and harborsfrom San Diego toBaltimore and to

facilitate recovery efforts for portsdecimated by the 2005-2008 hurricanes.

Environmental considerations remainat the forefront of our thinking andplanning throughout this process.

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Tomorrow’s Challenges

Houston-GalvestonNavigation Channels

The Ports of Houston and Galveston received$98.3 million and $40 million respectivelyfrom the 2009 American Recovery andReinvestment Act (ARRA). These funds will beused to restore the Galveston shipping channelto pre-Hurricane Ike depths of 40 feet andthen to complete efforts to deepen theHouston-Galveston Channel to 45 feet tobetter accommodate today’s larger ships.

Funding also is being used for relatedenvironmental projects and to provideconstruction and dredged material placementcapacity to avoid the increased costs oftransporting dredged material to distant sites.

The Port of Houston is home to the secondlargest petrochemical complex in the world andaccommodates 225 million tons of cargoannually. The ARRA funding will help support

the 1.5 million direct and indirect jobs and $285billion of economic activity related to these ports.

TogetherTogetherWorking Together

US Army Corps of Engineers

I n carrying out its navigation responsibilities,the Corps works closely with a variety of

federal agencies including the EnvironmentalProtection Agency, Maritime Administration,National Oceanic and AtmosphericAdministration, U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. CustomsService and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

We also partner with state andlocal governments, port authorities,and many private environmentalgroups and trade organizations tosolve problems and take advantageof water resource developmentopportunities that are in thenational interest.

We look forward to expanding these partnershipsand building new alliances as we work to meetthe challenges and opportunities facing ournation’s ports and harbors in the years ahead.

LearningMore

To learn more about the nation’sports and harbors and the Corps rolein maintaining them, please visitwww.CorpsResults.us.

©2009 Produced by the U.S. ArmyEngineer Institute for Water Resources inpartnership with the Headquarters. Toinquire about this brochure, please contactthe IWR publications office at

CEIWR.Publications@usace.army.mil. For the sources ofinformation used in this brochure, visit www.CorpsResults.us.