The citizens of Northwest Wisconsin request that the legislature provide increased funding for the Harbor Assistance Program, provide consideration or designation of funds to two major Superior harbor projects and provide funding for research related to accelerated freshwater corrosion.
Superior is Wisconsin’s largest port. The port of Superior-Duluth ships the most tonnage of any port on the Great Lakes. The port of Superior-Duluth also has the designation as being the largest (by volume) seasonal port in the world. The annual shipping season and associated waterfront capital investments generate a total economic impact for the Superior region that exceeds $210 million. Waterfront facilities pay over $3 million in property taxes and Superior docks pay occupational taxes of approximately $1 million per annum. More than 2,000 jobs are directly and indirectly reliant on the annual shipping season and capital investments.
An efficient and thriving port requires significant investment in harbor infrastructure including dock walls, material handling facilities and harbor and slip dredging. Regular dock wall maintenance is expected, but other unforeseen opportunities and threats arise in a port community which require immediate attention and additional financial investment.
Wisconsin is fortunate in that it has a program that provides financial assistance to port communities and the maritime businesses located therein. Since 1979, the Harbor Assistance Program (HAP), administered by the Wisconsin Department of Transportation, has assisted harbor communities along the Great Lakes and Mississippi River in maintaining and improving waterborne commerce. Port projects typically include dock reconstruction, mooring structure replacement, dredging, and the construction of facilities to hold dredged material. The port of Superior has received assistance from HAP in the past for three dock wall improvement projects.
Harbor Assistance Program grant funds may be used to finance up to 80 percent of eligible project costs or, if U.S. Army Corps of Engineers financing is involved, up to 50 percent of the local share of eligible project costs. HAP has historically been funded at $5 million per biennium. Unfortunately, the need for HAP funds far outstrips the resources available in the program.
In the port of Superior alone, 28 dock projects have been identified that would require a total of approximately $60 million in investments over the next twenty years. Neither the City of Superior nor the industries that utilize these facilities have the financial wherewithal to make these investments on their own.
Two immediate projects in the port require over $4.7 million in funding. The dock that serves the Cutler Magner Company needs to be improved in order to support the company’s $36 million dollar expansion to its manufacturing operations. On the other end of the port, dock wall repairs totaling $1.7 million dollars are expected to address dock wall deterioration at Cenex Harvest States due to “accelerated freshwater corrosion” that is occurring in the Superior-Duluth Harbor.
The “accelerated freshwater corrosion” is a significant problem in the Superior-Duluth harbor. The U.S. Army Corp of Engineers and the State of Minnesota have provided funds to research the cause of the problem and to develop solutions. Research could point to the utilization of protective coatings that could preserve dock walls and delay or prevent costly future repairs – thus saving millions of dollars in the long run. The State of Wisconsin has not yet contributed funds to these research efforts. Results of research done in the Superior Harbor could be used to address this issue in other harbors in the state.
In summary, in order for Superior to maintain its status as a world class port it needs assistance from the State of Wisconsin to address the opportunities and threats that face its harbor facilities. We are requesting that the State of Wisconsin: 1) increase funding of the HAP program to at least $6 million per biennium, 2) provide consideration or designation of funds to the Cutler Magner and Cenex Harvest States projects; and 3) provide $150,000 in funding for research related to the accelerated freshwater corrosion problem facing the harbor.