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Nethercutt to push deepening plan 02/21/04 The Columbian Erik Robinson U.S. Rep. George Nethercutt vowed to push for money to deepen the Columbia River shipping channel for bigger modern ships during a Friday afternoon visit to the Port of Vancouver. "I'm on the Appropriations Committee, and this is our time to fight for the money," he told a group of business, labor and agricultural leaders who gathered for a round-table discussion at the port. "It really is critical for our state." Nethercutt, who is running against Democratic Sen. Patty Murray, said in an interview afterward that he will use his relationship with fellow Republican George W. Bush to ensure support from the White House. Adjusted for inflation, and fully funded, it will cost $150.5 million to deepen the river from 40 to 43 feet between Vancouver and Astoria, Ore. The president included a line item for Columbia dredging in a budget proposal he submitted to Congress earlier this month, but he hasn't yet penciled in any money for the project. Nethercutt said he believes he can get Bush's support for channel-deepening. "The president's been here to our state, and he knows the importance of a multiple-use river system," Nethercutt said. Dredging supporters are looking for $15 million from the federal government for the fiscal year that begins in October. The money would be added to $55 million already committed by state legislatures in Washington and Oregon and $10 million already funded by the federal government, primarily for environmental restoration. Nethercutt said he has long supported channel deepening because it benefits his constituents in Eastern Washington who barge grain downriver. Murray, too, has strongly supported the proposal, as has most of the political power structure in Washington and Oregon. But Nethercutt said he's in a better position to find the money, because his party controls Congress and the White House. "I'm happy to work with her," Nethercutt said of Murray. "But she's not in the majority, so it's a little more difficult for her. I'm going to be a strong advocate of this." The Army Corps of Engineers believes the project will generate $1.66 in transportation benefits for every tax dollar spent. Corps economists figure that transportation savings will accrue because ships will be able to haul more material in a deeper channel, although the agency doesn't break down those benefits for farmers, shipping companies or overseas consumers. Local port officials tout the benefits of a deeper channel to the grain ships that call at the Port of Vancouver. But the corps calculates that almost two-thirds of the project's benefits will accrue to the higher-value merchandise hauled aboard giant container ships calling at the Port of Portland. A growing segment of the globe's fleet of container ships already drafts more than 50 feet of water when fully loaded, throwing into question the future economic viability of local ports even with a 43-foot-deep channel
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