The bipartisan effort would authorize a study examining benefits of deepening and widening the Savannah harbor to ensure it can continue accommodating increasingly large container vessels
Led by Senator Reverend Warnock, the bipartisan, bicameral letter to key House and Senate committee leaders was signed by the entire Georgia Congressional delegation
The Port of Savannah is the busiest container port in the Southeast and is the second most globally connected port in the U.S.
Georgia Lawmakers: “Due to how important the Port of Savannah is to the United States economy, it is critical to examine deepening and widening the existing project to ensure that the port can continue accommodating the ever-larger container vessels demanding access to these facilities”
Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Reverend Raphael Warnock (D-GA) led Georgia’s entire congressional delegation in a new bipartisan, bicameral push urging key Congressional committee leaders to include text authorizing a study to widen and deepen the harbor in the Port of Savannah in the annual Water Resources Development Act of 2024 (WRDA), which is currently being crafted. WRDA authorizes the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to carry out projects relating to water supply, wastewater infrastructure, food control, navigation, and ecosystem restoration across the country.
“Georgia’s ports are vital supply chain conduits and job creators for Georgia and the United States. The Port of Savannah is by far the busiest container port in the Southeast and is the second most globally connected port in the country, behind only the Port of New York and New Jersey. Due to how important the Port of Savannah is to the United States economy, it is critical to examine deepening and widening the existing project to ensure that the port can continue accommodating the ever-larger container vessels demanding access to these facilities,” the lawmakers wrote.
The letter, addressed to the top Democrat and Republican on both the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works and the U.S. House Committee on Transportation & Infrastructure, highlights the importance of the Port of Savannah to both the Georgia and the United States economy, and why the deepening and widening of the harbor would allow the port to keep pace with the continuously increasing size of container ships.
“Our delegation respectfully asks that both Committees include language to authorize a new feasibility study or modify the study authorized in the Water Resources Development Act of 2022 to include the ability to examine the benefits of both widening and deepening the harbor at the Port of Savannah,” the lawmakers concluded.
A longtime advocate for strong federal funding for Georgia’s ports, the letter follows Senator Warnock’s recent announcement of a $15 million federal grant to the Port of Brunswick for critical infrastructure upgrades. The Port of Brunswick will receive the grant through a U.S. Department of Transportation program funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, championed by Senators Reverend Warnock and Jon Ossoff, and the federal investments will provide new docks and improvements at one of the shipping terminals.
In addition to Senator Warnock, the letter was signed by Georgia’s full congressional delegation, including: U.S. Senator Jon Ossoff (D-GA), and U.S. Representatives Sanford D. Bishop, Jr. (D-GA, 2nd), Hank Johnson (D-GA, 4th), Nikema Williams (D-GA, 5th), Lucy McBath (D-GA, 7th), David Scott (D-GA, 13th), Earl “Buddy” Carter (R-GA, 1st), A. Drew Ferguson, IV (R-GA, 3rd), Rich McCormick, MD, (R-GA, 6th), Austin Scott (R-GA, 8th), Andrew Clyde (R-GA, 9th), Mike Collins (R-GA, 10th), Barry Loudermilk (R-GA, 11th), Rick Allen (R-GA, 12th), and Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA, 14th).
The full text of the letter can be found HERE and below:
Chair Carper, Ranking Member Capito, Chair Graves, and Ranking Member Larson:
As you consider proposals for inclusion in the Water Resources Development Act of 2024, we write to urge you to include language in the bill authorizing a study to examine the benefit of both widening and deepening the harbor at the Port of Savannah and to highlight the importance of this study and project to both Georgia and the United States economy.
Georgia’s ports are vital supply chain conduits and job creators for Georgia and the United States. The Port of Savannah is by far the busiest container port in the Southeast and is the second most globally connected port in the country, behind only the Port of New York and New Jersey. Due to how important the Port of Savannah is to the United States economy, it is critical to examine deepening and widening the existing project to ensure that the port can continue accommodating the ever-larger container vessels demanding access to these facilities.
The recently completed dredging under the Savannah Harbor Expansion Project (“SHEP”) was designed for vessels with an 8,200 twenty-foot equivalent unit (TEU) capacity. Before that dredging could even be completed, the Port of Savannah began receiving ships holding more than 16,000 TEUs on a tidally restricted basis. This trend has continued with increasing percentages of vessels experiencing restricted access to the port due to available water depth. We cannot sit back. Such restrictions prevent the Port of Savannah from operating efficiently and at full capacity, significantly and unnecessarily limiting the nation’s waterborne commerce.
As larger ships with increasing TEU capacity continue to call on the Port of Savannah, and with the Georgia Department of Transportation’s recent decision to increase the Port’s air draft capacity by raising the nearby Talmadge Bridge, we believe the currently restricted vessel access to Savannah warrants a new feasibility study to maximize the economic viability of the Port for the nation.
Our delegation respectfully asks that both Committees include language to authorize a new feasibility study or modify the study authorized in the Water Resources Development Act of 2022 to include the ability to examine the benefits of both widening and deepening the harbor at the Port of Savannah.
Sincerely,