{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.wyden.senate.gov/news/press-releases/merkley-wyden-bonamici-hoyle-announce-over-36-million-to-improve-coastal-ports-in-oregon", "Merkley, Wyden, Bonamici, Hoyle Announce Over $36 Million to Improve Coastal Ports in Oregon", "2023-11-01", "2023", "2023-11", "Democrat", "Senate", "OR", "Ron Wyden", "W000779", "www.wyden.senate.gov", "wyden", "https://www.wyden.senate.gov/news/press-releases", "scraper", "Washington, D.C. \u2013 Today, Oregon\u2019s U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden, along with U.S. Representatives Suzanne Bonamici (OR-01) and Val Hoyle (OR-04), announced a total of $36,489,508 in federal investments heading to the ports of Astoria, Coquille Indian Tribe\u2019s Ko\u2019Kwel Wharf, and Newport.\n\n\u201cPorts play a crucial role in keeping the economies of Oregon and the entire Pacific Northwest running smoothly\u2014transporting goods, people, and services throughout our region\u2014and we rely on them to export our amazing, homegrown products around the world,\u201d Merkley said. \u201cThis funding will provide crucial support to Astoria, the Coquille Indian Tribe, and Newport to improve existing infrastructure, increase storage capabilities, and bolster security while improving operational capacity for these critical ports.\u201d\n\n\u201cOregon\u2019s ports produce jobs and act as economic linchpins for their communities as well as the entire state economy,\u201d Wyden said. \u201cI\u2019m glad these three ports have secured these significant federal infrastructure investments to ensure they can keep exporting our state\u2019s world-renowned products as well as generating economic opportunities for Newport, Astoria, the Coquille Indian Tribe and beyond.\u201d\n\n\u201cPier 2 West in Astoria is crucial to the region\u2019s economy, but the structure has been deteriorating over the years,\u201d said Rep. Bonamici. \u201cI\u2019m thrilled that the Port of Astoria will receive close to $25.3 million from USDOT to make overdue repairs to this essential infrastructure.\u201d\n\n\u201cI'm thrilled that the Port of Newport will be receiving this important grant to upgrade its port infrastructure,\" said Rep. Hoyle. \u201cThis is exactly the type of support that the federal government should be providing to Oregon's ports, which are essential for local jobs and businesses on the Oregon coast. I will continue to strongly support investment in Oregon\u2019s coastal communities.\u201d\n\nThis past spring, Senators Merkley and Wyden and Rep. Bonamici sent a letter to U.S. Maritime Administration urging their support for the Port of Astoria\u2019s rehabilitation project application as well as a letter of support from Merkley and Wyden for the Newport operational capacity project application. Today\u2019s federal investments come from the Fiscal Year 2023 Port Infrastructure Development Program.\n\n\u201cThe Port of Astoria is extremely grateful to be a recipient of Port Infrastructure Development Program funding through MARAD for the rehabilitation of Pier 2 on the Astoria waterfront,\u201d said Will Isom, Port of Astoria, Executive Director. \u201cThe seafood processing cluster on Pier 2 is vital to the Port, the City of Astoria and the entire region. Federal investment into this infrastructure was critical for its future and will help provide a safe, economically viable pier for generations to come!\u201d\n\n\u201cThe Coquille Indian Tribe is proud to take part in the nationwide effort to rebuild our port infrastructure. With this funding, our Tribal One team will continue their work to rebuild Ko\u2019Kwel Wharf as a productive and reliable economic resource that will help secure the future of the Coquille Tribe and our North Bend community and become a valuable member of the nation\u2019s maritime industry,\u201d said Brenda Meade, Chairman, Coquille Indian Tribe.\n\n\"The Port of Newport greatly appreciates the support of our Federal Legislators and the Maritime Administration for this investment in our International Terminal. We are also grateful for our State Legislators, stakeholders and community for years of investment in our terminal. This will allow us to expand our operational capacity through the purchase of equipment and the improvement of a nine-acre parcel for lay-down purposes. These enhancements make the Port more attractive to prospective customers and support economic opportunity in Lincoln County,\" said Paula Miranda, Port of Newport, Executive Director.\n\nOregon projects funding and descriptions can be found below:\n\n$25,315,758 to Port of Astoria: This project funds the rehabilitation of the Port of Astoria\u2019s Pier 2 West \u2013 the region\u2019s hub for seafood processing and maritime commerce \u2013 which is in critical need of repairs and rehabilitation. Project elements include: (1) a new steel bulkhead wall with a 75 year lifespan and that will include a new fendering system, 50 ton double bitt bollards, and a cast-in-place concrete bullrail; (2) removal of the old timber dock; (3) backfill; (4) underpinning of the Pier 2 warehouse; (5) warehouse building concrete slab repairs; (6) new concrete pavement on the pier surface; (7) construction of a stormwater drainage system; and (8) replacement of a water line and fire hydrants adjacent to the warehouse for fire protection of Pier 2.\n\n$7,729,650 to Coquille Indian Tribe: This project funds the following three components: (1) repairs of the dock face along Lot 2 of Ko\u2019Kwel Wharf that will bring the entire dock area up to safe operating standards and open opportunities for new uses of the terminal and wharf facility; (2) bring 800-amp service and a shore power outlet box to the wharf to reduce or eliminate the need for idling diesel engines; and (3) support development phase activities leading to the construction of a 600\u2019-700\u2019 extension of the Ko\u2019Kwel Wharf dock.\n\n$3,444,100 to Port of Newport: This project and funding will support the Port of Newport in the grading of 9 acres of land adjacent to the port\u2019s existing Newport International Terminal to create additional laydown and storage space; fence three acres of land for increased security; and purchase two loaders to load, unload and move cargo within and around the port, especially breakbulk cargo, which the port's current cargo handling equipment is not well suited to safely and efficiently handle. These improvements to the Newport International Terminal enable the Port of Newport to continue to support the economic development and prosperity of the Oregon Coast.\n\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T18:49:58Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.wyden.senate.gov/news/press-releases/merkley-wyden-bonamici-hoyle-announce-over-36-million-to-improve-coastal-ports-in-oregon"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 2.234949264675379, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}