Proposed Presidential Budget For the Savannah District

SAVANNAH, Ga. – The President’s fiscal year 2012 Civil Works budget, released Monday, contains $57,637,000 for projects, studies, and operations and maintenance in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Savannah District.  The President included the funds for the Savannah district in a total civil works request of $4.631 billion he sent to Congress Monday.

     The fiscal 2012 Civil Works budget supports the President’s priorities of jobs, a strengthened economy, environmental protection and enhancement, and improved infrastructure.

The budget contains $600,000 in the Investigations Appropriation for the Savannah Harbor Expansion Project (SHEP). The funding will further the harbor deepening study leading to a record of decision which completes the Corps’ approval process.  The completed study allows the Corps to proceed to the construction phase of the harbor deepening, which has been planned for FY 2012. As the appropriations process moves forward, the Corps will continue the study with FY 2011 funding and await the final FY 2012 funding outcome, which will be reflected in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineer's Civil Works Appropriations from Congress.  “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.”

      The Corps released a draft General Re-Evaluation Reportand Environmental Impact Statementon Nov. 15, 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 benefitsto the United States, primarily by lowering transportation costs. Lower transportation costs can translate into lower consumer product costs.

      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 and Jasper-Beaufort Water and Sewer Authority, and protection to fish and wildlife.  The lakes also provide outdoor recreation opportunities to almost 25 million visitors annually.

      The budget included 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 Lakenear Augusta, Ga., received nearly $9.8 million for O & M.

      The Richard B. Russell Dam and Lakeproject 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.

      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 Districtmanages three lakes and hydroelectric damsalong the Savannah River. It also oversees a multi-billion dollar military constructionprogram 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.