In late May, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers released its final navigation work plan for FY2025. The plan outlines resources that will be used for dredging, structure maintenance, and other priorities at every port in the United States.
During the last few days, the Detroit District staff have compiled a summary/funding analysis of Great Lakes provisions, which can be found here.
Amounts shown in black are spending amounts originally proposed in the President’s FY2025 budget and approved by Congress. Amounts shown in red are “additional” funds, which Congress has provided the Corps of Engineers to distribute administratively at its discretion. While most of the Corps’ budget is often directed by Congress (line item-by-line item), Congress also continues to recognize the need to provide flexibility to the Corps based on its needs.
The Great Lakes summary shows that the Great Lakes region will receive a total of $466.21 million for navigation maintenance in FY2025. Much of this is harbor dredging, lock renewal/maintenance, and other structural improvements. By way of comparison, our region received $374.04 million in FY2024. FY2025 represents a historic level of overall funding for the Great Lakes region for this type of investment.
Harbor maintenance spending on the Great Lakes has grown considerably over the last decade. This has been the result of strong advocacy on Capitol Hill for full use of Harbor Maintenance Tax revenue, spending down the surplus balance of the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund, making the case for our region, and the requirement that no less than 13% of annual expenditures go to Great Lakes port and navigation projects.
Additionally, we also expect to have a more detailed analysis of the President’s FY2026 budget for the Corps, among other key initiatives, and specifically what that could mean for our region looking forward. This is the beginning of a long and critical effort that will not necessarily reflect the full and final work of Congress in the FY2026 funding process.
