Dominic CalabroFlorida is making the most of its 14 deep-water ports with investments aimed at improving Florida’s competitiveness in the global economy.
Florida’s port expansion plans will create a more efficient freight handling system and make the state more attractive to companies interested in moving to Florida. Floridians will benefit from port expansion with lower transportation costs and state and local governments will benefit from additional tax revenues.
However, there is one obstruction affecting the process of improving Florida’s ports: the federal government must approve port projects before they can be done, whether federal money is used or not.
The U.S. Senate recently passed the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) and the House is now considering it. Passage of the bill would benefit Florida several ways: authorization for Everglades restoration; Accelerated Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund spending for maintenance of dredging projects; and expansion of a public-private partnership (P3) pilot financing program for navigation, flood and storm projects
Passage of the WRDA will complement the substantial investments Florida has already made to improve the quality of its ports system – identified as being critical to realizing Florida’s goal of becoming the premier trade hub for U.S. trade with Latin America, the Caribbean, and other regions.
Investments in Florida’s ports have encouraged private-sector investments in logistics. Maximizing the benefits of both public and private-sector investments depends on the co-ordination of completing projects in areas of the logistics system so that benefits of other components of the logistics system can create efficiencies.
These efficiencies are critical for Florida’s recovery from the recession, which hurt the state’s economy three times harder than the nation as a whole.
There are two steps to getting a federal project done under the WRDA. First, the project must be authorized and then the money must be appropriated. The uncertainty of federal appropriations has caused Florida to commit state funds to projects in both Miami and Jacksonville, which are essential to Florida’s competitiveness.
For example, the Port of Jacksonville deems the Mile Point Project as critical to its success. It will reduce navigation restrictions on deep-draft ships. The 2013 Legislature authorized $36 million, with the Port of Jacksonville committing $500,000 and the Army Corps contributing $1.5 million in design services. However, this project can’t be completed until it’s authorized.
Under the WRDA, the federal government would reimburse the state for the money it already has spent on the Miami dredging project. The provided the federal share so that the port would be prepared for the extra traffic expected after the Panama Canal expansion is completed in 2014. These projects, along with important projects in the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan, are important to Florida’s business and environmental future.
Funds from the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund would be required to be spent in the same year they are collected, and be fully spent on harbor and port operation and maintenance. This would require the fees paid for port use to be spent on upkeep of ports and not for other purposes.
This will help Florida ports compete effectively with ports in other states. Currently, these funds are used to help balance the federal budget.
The expansion of the P3 pilot programs is limited to 15 projects. However, they can be used to improve infrastructure. They can also be studied and used as templates for the potential expansion of P3s to finance projects all over the U.S.
Passage of the WRDA will make Florida’s transportation and logistics system more efficient and create jobs. Florida’s U.S. senators and representatives should support the WRDA.
