Van Hollen, Cardin Welcome U.S. Army Corps Recommendations for the Port of Baltimore Shipping Channel

U.S. Senators Chris Van Hollen, a member of the Senate Appropriations Energy and Water Subcommittee, and Ben Cardin, a senior member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, (both D-Md.) praised the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) for its ongoing commitment to improving navigation, efficiency and safety at the Port of Baltimore. This week, Lt. Gen. Scott A. Spellmon, USACE Commanding General and 55th U.S. Army Chief of Engineers, recommended further deepening and widening the Seagirt channel into the Port of Baltimore. The Chief's Report for Baltimore Harbor Anchorages and Channels Modification of Seagirt Loop Channel includes a $64 million recommendation to deepen the West Seagirt Branch Channel to 50 feet with an average width of 760 feet. Following this report, the next step will be congressional consideration of the upcoming Water Resources Development Act, legislation that Congress has passed on a bipartisan basis every two years since 2014 and that authorizes USACE projects to support our nation’s ports and harbors.

“The Port of Baltimore drives economic activity across the region. Ensuring it remains a safe and efficient transit point for commerce is one of our highest priorities,” Senators Van Hollen and Cardin said. “We appreciate the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ work to examine the feasibility of modifications to the Seagirt Loop Channel and its recommendations for further capacity and safety improvements, recognizing Baltimore’s increasingly important role in our national supply chains. We look forward to continued collaboration with the Army Corps to support critical infrastructure and investments in navigation safety in Maryland.”

According to the USACE, “improvements to the Baltimore Harbor Anchorages and Channels project would result in improved navigation efficiencies at the Port of Baltimore to help meet demand for future capacity at the Port facilities, including efficient handling of increased container volume at Seagirt Marine Terminal and faster and safer movement of vessels transiting the channels.”

The Army Corps report can be found here: https://www.nab.usace.army.mil/Missions/Civil-Works/Seagirt-Loop-Channel.