Federal Funding For Waterways Approved

BERLIN -- Federal officials this week announced approval of nearly $52 million in funding for waterway improvement projects across Maryland including a couple on the Lower Shore.

Senator Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.) this week she was successful in securing $51.7 million for U.S. Army Corps of Engineers projects throughout Maryland in the fiscal year 2012 Energy and Water Development Appropriations bill. The bill’s biggest allocations include $18.3 million for the annual maintenance dredging of the C&D Canal, $13.6 million for the annual dredging of the Port of Baltimore shipping channels, and $11.8 million for the continuation of the Poplar Island environmental restoration project, which is taking dredged material from the Port of Baltimore project and using it to stabilize shorelines, create habitat areas and restore wetlands in the Chesapeake Bay.

Closer to home, the appropriations bill includes $700,000 for Assateague Island to be used for restoration efforts to protect the barrier island’s northern end. The bill also includes $1.5 million for the dredging of the upper portion of the Wicomico River near the port of Salisbury. Mikulski praised the bill for its environmental and economic benefits.

“This bill is a jobs bill,” she said. “This federal investment in the lives and livelihoods of those who depend on clean and open waterways to keep businesses open and keep Marylanders working.”