Detroit District Awards Green Bay Maintenance Contract to Roen Salvage

Roen Salvage Company has won a $1741400 contract for maintenance dredging in Green Bay Harbor. It is a Multiple Award Task Order Contract (MATOC) from the Detroit Engineer District.

The project involves removing 90000 cubic yards of material. Most of the dredging – 82000 cubic yards – will take place in the bay. The remaining 8000 cubic yards of material will be removed from a turning basin 3.4 miles upstream.

“We are pleased to award this dredging contract to keep commercial shipping operating unimpeded in Green Bay” said Lt. Col. Robert Ells district engineer. “Marine transport is economical efficient and environmentally friendly and the products shipped through Green Bay Harbor help energize the economy and support local jobs.”

The deep draft commercial harbor is located at the mouth of the Fox River at the head of Green Bay in Lake Michigan. It is ranked 27th among the Great Lakes Harbors based on five-year average (2006-2010) tonnage and 109th among U.S. ports.

Green Bay Harbor ships and receives on a five-year average 2.3 million tons of material. The main products transported through the harbor include coal limestone cement salt fuel oil liquid asphalt lumber and general cargo.

A reduction in the bulk commodities that pass through the harbor would affect the $96 million annually it generates in direct revenue and 1495 direct indirect and induced jobs more than $103 million per year in personal income. A loss of between one and two feet of channel depth results in increased transportation costs of between $439000 and $1.1 million annually. The engineering specifications on this page represent the condition of the channel in November 2012.

Approximately 180000 cubic yards of material must be dredged each year to provide for one-way vessel traffic. The harbor was last dredged in 2012. Roen Salvage expects to begin in mid-May and wrap up by mid-August. Maintenance dredging is also planned for 2014. An EPA Superfund site is located within the federal channel. Close coordination with EPA and the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources is required for maintenance dredging projects.

For FY12 and FY13 the appropriations for Green Bay Harbor maintenance dredging were short of the Corps’ project estimates by $6667000 and $5600000 respectively. The majority of the budget shortfall came from a confined disposal facility (CDF) closure project on Renard Island. The Corp also requested more money than it received for backlog maintenance dredging. The Corps’ requested budget reflects project conditions surveys primary and backlog maintenance dredging work the Renard Island closure and Phase One of the Cat Island disposal construction including projections for 2014.

Since the Green Bay CDF at Renard Island is at capacity and in the process of being closed the dredged material will be placed in the Bay Port disposal facility located on the north side of the Fox River which flows into Green Bay.

To provide more long-term capacity for material dredged from the bay the Cat Islands project involves restoring a series of barrier islands in Green Bay Harbor. Construction began in FY12 with Great Lakes Restoration Initiative funding and will be completed with USACE Construction General funding. Construction is scheduled to be complete in 2015.

The Corps’ MATOC which the Detroit District established with 10 companies capable of dredging in the Great Lakes is designed to provide greater flexibility and expedite the bid solicitation-award process for dredging in Great Lakes commercial shipping channels and harbors.

The Detroit District maintains a navigation system of 91 harbors and four connecting channels including the channels joining lakes Superior Michigan Huron St. Clair and Erie.