(Washington, DC) – Today, U.S. Representative Derek Kilmer (WA-06) and U.S. Senators Patty Murray (D-WA) and Maria Cantwell (D-WA) announced that a $8.6 million federal grant has been awarded to the Port of Port Angeles in Washington state. The grant was awarded through the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration’s (MARAD) Port Infrastructure Development Program (PIDP).
Sen. Cantwell, Sen. Murray and Rep. Kilmer all advocated for the grant. Murray wrote a letter of support for the Port of Port Angeles to U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg in May 2022.
“This announcement is about jobs. I grew up in Port Angeles and know how much we can benefit from federal infrastructure investments to strengthen economic opportunity here. That’s why I’ve been advocating for the federal government to invest in Port Angeles and in the future of this region’s economy,” said Rep. Kilmer. “Making improvements to port facilities so we can grow jobs in our region shouldn’t fall on the backs of local taxpayers. The federal government ought to help. This is big news for our region.”
“The Port of Port Angeles is the anchor of the economy in the Olympic Peninsula and connects Washington state to the rest of the world, sending our goods to market and employing thousands of workers in Clallam County. With so much at stake for Washington families, it’s critical we make the Port, which plays such a central role in our state’s economy, safer and more efficient, and these funds I helped pass will do just that,” said Senator Murray. “This grant is going to support good-paying jobs for Washington families, and help us free up supply chains so we can get goods on our shelves faster while keeping costs down. Washington state’s ports are critical to our state’s economy—that’s why I fought to get them the resources they need to lower prices in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, and I will continue fighting for them in the Senate.”
“The Port of Port Angeles’ Intermodal Handling and Transfer Facility is a critical component of the historic timber industry in Clallam County. It is vital for our supply chain as the only facility on the North Peninsula capable of receiving logs for processing and barging logs from the Peninsula to Washington manufacturers. Upgrading the Intermodal Handling and Transfer Facility will solidify the Port’s ability to directly support good-paying timber and manufacturing jobs on the Olympic Peninsula for decades to come,” Sen. Cantwell said.
“So many of the goods we all count on, from appliances to furniture to clothes, move through our nation’s ports on their way to us,” said U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg. “Using funds from President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, this year we’re awarding record levels of funding to improve our port infrastructure, strengthen our supply chains, and help cut costs for American families.”
According to the Port of Port Angeles, this PIDP grant will be used to complete structural repairs and improvements to an existing 112-year-old dock and pavement improvements to increase the surface elevation and load capacity for approximately 10 acres of an existing 30-acre cargo yard.
“The Port of Port Angeles is thrilled to have been awarded a MARAD FY22 Port Infrastructure Development Program (PIDP) Award for $8,608,000 to assist in the repair and improvements to its industrial waterfront at its Intermodal Handling and Transfer Facility (IHTF),” said Connie Beauvais, Port of Port Angeles Commission President. “The project will improve efficiency, expand opportunities for other uses and improve the water quality of stormwater runoff at the facility. This Port asset facilitates the efficient movement of material on and off the North Olympic Peninsula via waterborne transportation, which benefits our local community by reducing transportation costs and removing trucks off Highway 101, which reduces 610 tons of CO2 emissions annually and improves safety.”
The Olympic Peninsula has historically been a center for timber harvest and lumber manufacturing from public and private lands. However, its remote location and lack of rail limits logistical options for transporting product onto and off the Peninsula for domestic manufacturing.
The IHT facility in Port Angeles is the only industrial facility with a water interface on the Olympic Peninsula that can process whole logs coming from Canada and Alaska. The IHT facility also moves logs from the Peninsula to manufacturers elsewhere in Washington state and Oregon using maritime (barge) transportation. The IHT facility is a vital part of the freight-transportation infrastructure on the Olympic Peninsula, through its barging and log-rafting capability, and directly supports domestic manufacturing, timber industry jobs, and economic development throughout the region. The living wage jobs the IHT supports, both directly and indirectly, have a profound impact on the citizens of Clallam County, where more than 15% of the population lives below the poverty line.
The Port’s project aims to improve the IHT facility’s efficiency and increase its barging capacity. In turn, this will provide a safer, more reliable, and cost-effective option for freight transportation to support domestic manufacturing in Washington and Oregon. Importantly, a recent carbon emissions study shows that barge transportation to and from Port Angeles to domestic manufacturers emits 76% less carbon when compared to long-haul trucking. And while the study did not analyze impacts to road maintenance or traffic flow, it did reveal that barge transportation to these markets reduces 750,000 miles of truck use on roads and highways.
Rep. Kilmer has long advocated for the Port Infrastructure Development Program (PIDP), leveraging his role on the House Committee on Appropriations to secure critical funding for the program. He also voted to support the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), which provided $2.25 billion for the program, significantly expanding America’s ability to invest in infrastructure and capacity upgrades at ports. Rep. Kilmer also sent a letter of support to the Secretary Buttigieg in May 2022 to support the Port of Port Angeles during the grant decision-making process. In addition, Rep. Kilmer voted to pass and secured numerous provisions to support ports and waterway navigation through the Water Resources Development Act of 2022. This includes, among others, projects to deepen the Port of Tacoma, build stormwater treatment facilities at the Port of Port Angeles, and restore aquatic ecosystems throughout the region. This legislation has passed the U.S. House of Representatives, and Rep. Kilmer has publicly committed to pushing to see the bill become law in the coming months.
Senator Murray has long fought for Washington state’s ports and waterways. Earlier this month, Senator Murray announced a federal grant of over $4.1 million from the Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration for the purchase of an electric dock crane at the Port of Vancouver. In August, Senator Murray held a roundtable discussion in Longview on her recent efforts to support the Port of Longview, strengthen supply chains, and help create good-paying jobs. The Water Development Resources Act, contained key provisions for Washington state including changes secured by Murray to the Harbor Maintenance Tax and Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund. These changes will provide billions of dollars each year to invest in and enhance the global competitiveness of ports in Washington state and across the country.
As Chair of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, Sen. Cantwell worked to include a record $2.25 billion for the program in the Biden-Harris Infrastructure Law. In September 2021, Sen. Cantwell led a letter calling for more funding for the PIDP program to help address the ongoing issues with port congestion. Sen. Cantwell also championed and coauthored the 2019 legislation that reauthorized MARAD and strengthened the PIDP grant program, and was instrumental in passing the Ocean Shipping Reform Act to strengthen maritime supply chains and protect Washington farmers and exporters from shipping companies’ unfair practices.
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