WASHINGTON, D.C. (AP)-- The federal government would spend $47 million for dredging and other harbor maintenance in Michigan under a bill awaiting a vote in the U.S. Senate.
The Appropriations Committee approved the measure last week and sent it to the floor. It would spend $8 million more for Michigan navigation projects than last year.
It's part of an energy and water package that Senator Carl Levin says reflects a commitment to reducing a dredging backlog in the Great Lakes region, where low water is causing navigation problems for cargo ships and recreational boats.
The committee ordered the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to give priority to maintaining authorized depths and widths of harbors and shipping channels, cleaning up contaminated sediments, easing maintenance backlogs and promoting job growth and economic development.
