From ferrying people to shipping petroleum products, Connecticut relies heavily on its ports. Dredging and capital investment is critical for ports to survive.
• Facilitate dredging of ports. Partners: CT DEP, US EPA, US ACE, CT Maritime Commission.
• Facilitate development of security policies for all ports. Partners: US Coast Guard, CONNDOT.
• Seek capital investment for purchase of land surrounding port areas. Partners: CONNDOT, DECD.
• Supported the state's purchase of Central Vermont Pier in the Port of New London. Partners: CONNDOT.
• Created Port Authority in the port of New Haven. Partners: City of New Haven.
• Industry provided resources to guide the federal Long Island Sound Environmental Impact Statement (LIS-EIS) process. This process governs the disposition of dredged sediments (estimated 750,000 cubic yards/year) from Connecticut's ports, harbors, marinas and navigable harbors to sites in LIS, and alternative methods of dredged sediment management. Partners: CT DEP, CT Maritime Commission, US EPA. |
The Facts |
• In the United States, less than half of the states have direct transportation access to the ocean through deepwater ports. Connecticut has three.
• In Connecticut, 19 million tons of cargo, 2.6 million people and 850,000 vehicles are moved over water by private operators each year.
• Connecticut's construction, steel, pharmaceutical industries as well as our thirst for petroleum depend heavily on the state's deepwater ports for survival and growth.
• Connecticut's deepwater ports are on an extremely critical timeline to be dredged. As port channels grow shallower, depth dictates the size of ships that are able to safely enter ports to offload goods. Larger ships will be unable to use ports and cargo will need to be transported by alternative methods, most likely over highways. We estimate 500,000 to 950,000 more truck trips on I-95 per year.
• Ports need capital investment to expand. Connecticut's ports have limited land for cargo storage space and consequently continue to miss opportunities for sea transportation business. Instead, goods are transported by truck. We estimate 80,000 truck trips per year on I-95 could be eliminated if this cargo was transported through Connecticut's ports. |
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