Frelinghuysen Inspects Port NJ and NY Harbor Deepening Project:

Applauds Progress Towards Completion of Channel Dredging

WASHINGTON.  Congressman Rodney P. Frelinghuysen (NJ-11) today toured the Port of New Jersey and New York harbor deepening dredging project to see the progress made toward completion of this economically vital project.  He was accompanied by Congressman Mike Simpson (ID-2), chairman of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy and Water, and Major General John W. Peabody, deputy commanding general, civil and emergency operations, Army Corps of Engineers, along with other senior officials from the Army Corps and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.  The group also inspected landside facilities in Port Newark and Port Elizabeth.

“The Port is one of the most important economic engines of the region,” Frelinghuysen observed, “and the deepening to 50 feet of the 35 miles of navigation channels is absolutely essential to maintaining the Port’s long-term economic vitality and competitiveness. Every time someone in the region makes a purchase – anything from a new shirt to a new car – the chances are very good that the items they bought came through the Port.”

“I was eager for Chairman Simpson to see for himself the impressive progress being made on this project of national significance,” Frelinghuysen said.  “Since I passed the gavel of the Energy and Water Committee to Chairman Simpson late last year, he has taken an active interest in this project and I appreciate his support for seeing it to completion in the months ahead.”

Touring the harbor aboard the P/B Hocking, the delegation inspected ongoing dredging work at the Arthur Kill.  They also observed conditions at the Kill van Kull, Bayonne Bridge, the Port Jersey Channel, and Global Marine Terminal. 

Congressman Frelinghuysen has secured major funding for deepening project annually since fiscal year 2002, ensuring that the funds needed to complete this project have been available. Frelinghuysen chaired the Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittee until late last year, when he assumed the chair of the House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee.

The Port of New Jersey and New York – the largest port on the East Coast and third largest in the nation – provides 280,000 jobs and nearly $11.6 billion in personal income and more than $37.1 billion in business income to the states of New Jersey and New York.  The Port also generates almost $5.2 billion in federal, state, and local taxes.   According to the Army Corp’s most recent figures, in 2010, 4,811 ships entered the harbor, transporting cargo worth more than $175 billion.

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