USA: Officials Celebrate Docking of Essroc’s Vessel at Port of Rochester

Yesterday, Congresswoman Louise M. Slaughter (D-NY), the administration of Mayor Tom Richards, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Essroc celebrated the docking of Essroc’s cargo ship, the Stephen B. Roman, in the Port of Rochester.

The ship, which has a capacity of 7400 metric tons, was unable to dock for over two-and-a-half years due to sediment buildup. To fix the problem, Representative Slaughter, Co-Chair of the Great Lakes Task Force in the U.S. House of Representatives, secured a $1.5 million public-private partnership to dredge more than 200,000 cubic yards of sediment from the Genesee River, a critical engine of the Rochester economy which imports $10 million worth of goods every year.

Last year, Slaughter convened local stakeholders to advance the partnership and worked with the Army Corps of Engineers to approve the plan. In May of 2013, Slaughter announced that she had secured funding for a new round of dredging in 2014 to ensure the long-term viability of the port.

“This hard-won public-private partnership to dredge the port shows that Rochester is open for business, and with a new round of dredging set to begin in 2014, we’re going to make sure it stays open,” said Rep. Slaughter. “The Great Lakes are vital to our local economy, and today’s docking shows what happens when both the public and private sector come together to move our economy forward. I want to thank Essroc for their commitment to Rochester’s local economy.”

“We are very pleased to see the M/V Stephen B Roman making regular trips up the Genesee River again,” said Stephen Murch, Senior Manger Marine Logistics at Essroc Italcementi Group. “Essroc would like to thank Congresswoman Slaughter and her great staff for their support in this joint dredging project we have completed with the USACE. Also we thank the Congresswoman for her continued efforts to secure all sources of funding for future dredging projects so that Essroc can focus on the delivering quality cement into the Port of Rochester and let the real professionals handle the dredging.”

“Over the years, the Corps of Engineers has had a very productive relationship with Rep. Slaughter and stakeholders in the Rochester area,” said U.S. Army Corps of Engineers District Commander LTC Owen Beaudoin. “We have worked together to serve the people and businesses in the Rochester area not only with respect to dredging, but rehabbing the West Pier for recreational use, implementing a pilot program for algae removal from Ontario Beach and last, but certainly not least, it is the Corps’ Mount Morris Dam that keeps the City of Rochester safe from periodic flooding. The Corps will continue to cooperatively seek out opportunities to be of service to the people of Rochester and the nation within the limits of its authorities and available resources.”

“Maintaining a viable shipping lane in this portion of the Genesee River is key to the future vitality of the Port of Rochester,” said Rochester Deputy Mayor Leonard T. Redon. “The City’s Local Waterfront Development Plan is helping us prioritize how our shores and waterfronts are developed and preserved and this action by Congresswoman Slaughter, the Army Corps of Engineers and Essroc is beneficial to the area’s exciting development and infrastructure plans.”

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Press Release, August 20, 2013