Funding will help maintain important lock and dam network on the southwest river system
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senators Arlen Specter and Bob Casey today announced that the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee has approved federal funding for several energy and water initiatives in Southwest Pennsylvania. The projects are contained in the Fiscal Year 2010 Energy and Water Development Appropriations Bill.
A recent economic impact study found that the river system in southwest Pennsylvania supports 45,000 direct jobs and 218,000 total jobs.
“This federal funding is crucial to maintaining and building the infrastructures that are vital to the local economies and safety of Southwest Pennsylvania,” Senator Specter said. “I am pleased my colleagues have recognized the importance of these projects.”
“I am grateful that my colleagues approved funding for these important projects,” said Senator Casey. “This money will go a long way to help build and maintain infrastructure, improve flood control systems and cultivate new clean energy jobs in Southwestern Pennsylvania.”
The bill must be approved by the full Senate, the House of Representatives and signed into law by the President before funding is final.
Pennsylvania projects in the bill include:
Energy-related
• $1 million for Siemens Energy Inc. in Pittsburgh for research and development on alternative fuels to operate solid oxide fuel cells power systems. This program helps meet future electricity demand with domestic renewable resources and produces electricity with near zero emissions.
• $1.2 million for PPG Industries in Pittsburgh for low cost manufacturing research and development of solar cells and windows. The development of new technologies seeks to reduce the need for additional power plants and increase building efficiency to meet energy needs and improve the environment.
Water Development
• $25 million for the rehabilitation of the Emsworth Lock and Dam in Pittsburgh. The Emsworth Dam, the oldest of the 20 locks and dams on the Ohio River system, is currently in a state of failure. The rehabilitation project will update the structural components of the dam to ensure continued navigational capability on the Ohio River. If the Emsworth pool is lost, two major facilities dependent on river transportation will be impacted, the US Steel Clairton Works, the largest coke plant in the United States and the Bailey/Enslow Fork Complex owned by Consol Energy, the largest underground coal mine in the United States.
• $6.21 million for Locks and Dams 2, 3 and 4 on the Lower Monongahela River in Allegheny and Westmoreland Counties for rehabilitation of locks that are nearly a century-old and structurally unstable.
• $16.758 million for maintenance of the Monongahela River Locks and Dams to allow for the continued operation and maintenance of the navigation system. Approximately 15 percent of the nation’s steel production relies on the coke produced at facilities along this river.
• $9.039 million for maintenance of the Allegheny River Locks and Dams to allow for the continued operation and maintenance of the navigation system on the Allegheny River.
• $1.7 million for the Upper Ohio River Navigation Study in Allegheny, Beaver and Washington Counties to study the condition of the Upper Ohio River Locks and Dams and recommend future alternatives to repair or replace them.
• $21.470 million for maintenance of the Ohio River Locks and Dams to allow for the continued operation and maintenance of the navigation system.
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