SALISBURY – Wicomico County is moving forward with completing a study to find out how feasible it would be construct a river port that would largely work in partnership with a waste-to-energy facility in exporting processed materials.
On Tuesday morning, a resolution came before the Wicomico County Council authorizing County Executive Rick Pollitt to accept a grant award in the amount of $26,500 from the Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development (DBED) to fund a strategic plan to develop a river port.
The resolution states, “the County submitted an application for grant funding to partially fund a Strategic Plan to develop a River port and has received notice from the DBED that the application has been approved for a conditional Maryland Economic Development Assistance Authority and Fund (MEDAAF) grant in the amount of $26,500, and that the County agrees to contribute a 50 percent match in the amount of $26,500, for a total project cost of $53,000.
“Administration and execution of the terms of the grant, including oversight of the planning process, the deliverables, and the hiring of a consultant to facilitate the strategic planning process for the County will be organized through the Department of Public Works.”
According to the grant application, “The planning study seeks to identify potential locales for such a facility to allow existing and current businesses utilizing the river to enhance usage and to potentially attract new users to the river.”
The concept of undergoing a strategic plan to construct a River port was discussed among the council in May. At that time, Pamela Hepner of DBED submitted, Salisbury is the largest city on the Eastern Shore of Maryland and the county’s seat is located at the head of the Wicomico River, the navigable waterway that leads to the Chesapeake Bay.
Hepner furthered, the county has an opportunity to purchase several parcels available along the undustrial zoned Wicomico River for a river port in Salisbury that would serve multiple businesses and provide economic development in the surronding area.
The county is planning to have a waste-to-energy facility located five miles away from the river front that will convert municpal solid waste and chicken manure into energy steam. The county believes that a River port in this area would provide a good location where the county could have access to transport processed metals, fertilizer additives and other commodities generated from the Facility.
In addition to the county’s needs, the river port would provide infrastructure and access to companies in the area who could not afford the service on their own. Potential users would include local businesses that currently use the Wicomico River to transport material and commodities by barge such as Perdue Agribusiness.
Councilman Joe Holloway questioned where the connection between the potential river port and waste faciltiy stands at this point.
“Certainly the issues we have on the Wicomico River is the fact that a lot of material comes up the river, and not much material leaves the river through all the barge traffic, so that was one of the opportunities whether it be metals that are recovered could be sent out by barge, process chicken manure or fertilizer can be sent out by barge, it could be processed waste could be sent out by barge. There is a plethora of opportunities and that is why we wanted to do the feasibility study to see what opportunities are out there,” Public Works Director Lee Beauchamp said.
The council voted unanimously to accept the grant and move forward with the strategic plan.