The Senate Appropriations Committee has passed funding legislation for fiscal year (FY) 2020 that funds the Departments of Defense and Energy, as well as important infrastructure projects administered by the Army Corps of Engineers.
Senator Jeanne Shaheen, a senior member of the Appropriations Committee and member of the Energy and Water Subcommittee, helped procure $7.75 billion for the Army Corps to complete necessary infrastructure projects in New Hampshire and across the country.
This is $751.5 million above last year’s funding level, and includes the funding necessary to begin maintenance dredging of Rye Harbor.
Shaheen also added language to the bill that urges USACE to expedite scheduled maintenance at small and low-use ports that have experienced unexpected levels of deterioration since their last dredging.
Once funding legislation is approved by Congress, the Corps will develop its Work Plan for FY2020.
Senator Shaheen has continuously pushed for dredging at the harbor, writing a letter to the Corps last October urging them to prioritize the project and touring the harbor last month to see the shoaling up close and discuss the issue with Corps officials and local fishermen.
After continued advocacy by Shaheen, last year the Corps included emergency dredging for Hampton-Seabrook Harbor in its 2019 Work Plan.