The President has released both
the work plan for fiscal year 2016 (FY16) and his budget proposal for fiscal
year 2017 (FY17) which includes funding for ongoing projects in the U.S. Army
Corps of Engineers, Wilmington District.
The FY16 work plan provides additional
funding of $13.9 million under operation and maintenance for a range of
Wilmington District projects over the original total allocation/funding of
about $54 million. These funds will allow for additional maintenance dredging
at multiple coastal navigation projects including Morehead City Harbor at $5
million; Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway (AIWW) at $3 million and Manteo
(Shallowbag) Bay at $3.2 million. Also, Silver Lake Harbor and Rollinson
Channel received a total $2.2 million for additional maintenance dredging of
the shallow draft navigation channels to and from Ocracoke Island, a
subsistence island only accessible by boat or ferry. The enclosed table shows
the FY16 original funding allocations for all projects, the additional funds
provided by the work plan and the resulting total funding for this year.
The FY17 budget provides about $55.1 million
for O&M of the District’s projects including maintenance dredging of
multiple deep and shallow draft navigation harbors and channels including
Wilmington Harbor at $13.4 million; Morehead City Harbor at $5.9 million;
Manteo (Shallowbag) Bay (Oregon Inlet) at $1.9 million and the AIWW at $1.8
million. The District’s five lakes and dams are included in the budget with
John H. Kerr Dam and Reservoir in N.C. and Va. (Buggs Island) receiving $16.9
million, an increase over the FY16 project allocation, to install a toe drain
system at Island Creek Dam. The other four District lake projects received a
combined $11.7 million to continue to provide flood reduction, recreation and
other authorized purposes and services to the public. The FY17 budget proposals
for all District projects are shown on the enclosed table.
“The additional funding for this year gives
the Wilmington District a great opportunity to provide a higher level of
service to the public in North Carolina. Funding for three of the state's
important navigation projects at Morehead City Harbor, Manteo and the AIWW
allows us to perform additional dredging and continue to alleviate the
emergency conditions in the short term ,” said Wilmington District Commander
Colonel Kevin Landers, Sr. “In addition, we continue to appreciate the state's
support in strategic planning and potential funding to keep the state's
waterways, which are economic engines, viable.”
Like each year’s presidential budget, the
proposed FY17 budget begins a process that includes action by both the House of
Representatives and the Senate, and results in an appropriations bill to be
enacted into law before final funding amounts are known.