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RESOLUTION URGING THE FLORIDA LEGISLATURE TO APPROVE ADDITIONAL FUNDING FOR THE PORT OF MIAMI DEEP DREDGE PROJECT; IDENTIFYING THE DEEP DREDGE PROJECT AS A CRITICAL PRIORITY FOR THE 2011 STATE LEGISLATIVE SESSION

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WHEREAS, the Deep Dredge Project at the Port of Miami is one of the most important infrastructure projects in Florida and has nationwide significance in support of international trade, commerce and job creation; and
WHEREAS, the Deep Dredge Project, now in the planning, engineering and design stage, entails dredging the Port of Miami channel to minus 50 feet from its current depth of minus 42 feet; and
WHEREAS, the Army Corp of Engineers is scheduled to complete the design work in 2011 and with construction dollars appropriated, bids would be let in 2012 with a projected completion date in 2014; and
WHEREAS, this timetable would coincide with the scheduled opening of the expanded Panama Canal in 2014; and
WHEREAS, beginning in 2014, large numbers of Super Post-Panamax megaships that previously offloaded cargo on the West Coast of the U.S. will instead be able to traverse the expanded Panama Canal, presenting an unprecedented, one-time opportunity for the Port of Miami to significantly expand its cargo business; and
WHEREAS, three East Coast ports, New York, Baltimore and Norfolk, already have deepened their waters to meet the necessary 50-foot depth; and
WHEREAS, the Port of Miami has received authorization to dredge to the minus 50-foot level and has the ability to complete the project by 2014; and
WHEREAS, without additional East Coast deep draft capacity in place by 2014, the U.S. is at risk of losing jobs to other seaports overseas, as the larger Super Post-Panamax ships have the option of calling at nearby foreign ports such as Freeport, Bahamas; and
WHEREAS, the Port of Miami has approximately 6,200 lineal feet of berth space, supported by Super Post-Panamax cranes capable of serving the largest ships in the world; and
WHEREAS, the first and third largest cargo lines in the world currently make the Port of Miami their southernmost point of operation in the U.S., and have joined with the Port of Miami in an aggressive landside infrastructure program to improve and expand facilities to accommodate additional cargo business; and
WHEREAS, the Deep Dredge Project provides a high return on the investment, with the scope of the dredge at the Port of Miami being only 2.5 nautical miles, a relatively short distance compared to other potential ports, and the Port of Miami�s harbor only requiring maintenance dredging every 10 years rather than river ports that require annual maintenance; and
WHEREAS, it is estimated that the Deep Dredge Project would enable the Port of Miami to double its cargo business over the next 10 years and create more than 30,000 new, high paying, permanent jobs; and
WHEREAS, the Deep Dredge Project will pay dividends not only for Miami-Dade County, but throughout the state and nation for decades to come; and
WHEREAS, on February 15, 2011, this Board adopted Resolution No. 121-11 urging the President and U.S. Congress to budget and appropriate $75 million in federal construction funding for the Deep Dredge Project at the Port of Miami; and further urging the Governor and Florida Legislature to identify State funding sources to assist in the timely completion of the Deep Dredge Project; and
WHEREAS, when President Barack Obama released his proposed federal budget in February, it did not include funding for the Port of Miami Deep Dredge Project despite the fact that the Deep Dredge Project had received Congressional authorization; and
WHEREAS, on March 4, 2011, Florida Governor Rick Scott announced that he would pledge an additional $77 million in Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) Strategic Intermodal System (SIS) funds for the Deep Dredge Project; and
WHEREAS, this additional $77 million in funding would be in addition to the $17.5 million in SIS funds for the Deep Dredge Project which already had been proposed in the state fiscal year 2011-12 FDOT Tentative Five-Year Work Program; and
WHEREAS, the Florida Legislature still needs to approve the additional $77 million in funding for the Deep Dredge Project as part of the state fiscal year 2011-12 appropriations process and in approving the 2011-12 FDOT Tentative Five-Year Work Program; and
WHEREAS, the Board expresses its strong support for this additional state funding for the Deep Dredge Project, urges the Legislature to approve additional state funding for the Deep Dredge Project and desires to set additional state funding for the Deep Dredge Project as one of Miami-Dade County�s critical priorities for the 2011 session,
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS OF MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, FLORIDA, that this Board:
Section 1. Urges the Florida Legislature to approve additional funding for the Deep Dredge Project at the Port of Miami as part of the state fiscal year 2011-12 appropriations process and in approving the 2011-12 FDOT Tentative Five-Year Work Program.
Section 2. Identifies the Deep Dredge Project as a Critical Priority for the 2011 state legislative session.
Section 3. Directs the Clerk of the Board to transmit a certified copy of this resolution to Governor, Senate President, House Speaker and the Chair and Members of the Miami-Dade State Legislative Delegation.
Section 4. Directs the County's state lobbyists to advocate for the passage of the legislation as set forth in Section 1 above, and authorizes and directs the Office of Intergovernmental Affairs to include this item in the 2011 State Legislative Package.