en.Wedoany.com Reported - The Olympia Port Commission approved a $11.25 million federal grant application by a 3-2 vote, which will be submitted to the U.S. Maritime Administration (MARAD) to fund the construction of a second marine terminal warehouse and dredging of ship berths.
The grant will cover most of the costs for these two projects, with the remainder borne by the port. The port authority plans to build a warehouse to store cargo from a Brazilian pulp and paper manufacturer, with an estimated cost of $9.7 million, higher than the $6.5 million planned in the port's 2026 capital budget.
The dredging project is expected to cost $8 million, requiring the removal of approximately 24,000 cubic yards of sediment to clear water depths to 40 feet within a 5.36-acre area.
Commissioners supporting the grant application deemed it fiscally prudent, while opponents criticized the significant cost increase for the warehouse and a lack of transparency in the decision-making process.
The port authority originally planned to include dredging in its larger Budd Inlet restoration project. However, according to Marine Terminal Senior Manager Afsin Yilmaz, the port is seeking this funding because the grant requires the dredging project to be combined with active infrastructure development. Since the warehouse is the port's only current infrastructure project, Yilmaz stated that the two projects were bundled to make the dredging portion eligible for the application.
Port Executive Director Alex Smith stated that the terminal was last dredged in February 2015, covering only a 150-foot section of the berth. Since then, significant sedimentation has occurred around the berth area. Although the federally required depth is 42 feet, the northern end has shoaled to just 25.2 feet, reducing available berth space and making it more difficult for pilots to maneuver vessels. Multiple sources, including a 2026 depth survey conducted at the request of Puget Sound Pilots, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers data, and private surveys, have confirmed the issue. Yilmaz added that, according to projections, by 2030, sedimentation will limit the terminal to handling only one vessel at a time instead of two.
Among the five commissioners, Krag Unsoeld and Jerry Toompas voted against the grant application. Unsoeld expressed discomfort with the application, as it implies a long-term commitment by the port to developing the marine terminal, and inquired about potential penalties if the port ultimately decides not to build the warehouse. Commissioner Jasmine Vasavada, who chaired the meeting, stated that the question time had expired when Unsoeld raised his query, and the question went unanswered. Toompas focused on the warehouse cost and expressed dissatisfaction with the short decision-making timeline.
In response, Commissioner Joel Hansen noted that the federal grant notice was issued on April 7 and stated that such matters progress quickly, making it impossible to spend years planning. Hansen added that advancing these projects now could avoid future cost inflation, and utilizing MARAD grants would reduce the port's required matching funds to 30% of costs, compared to the 50% match required for restoration and cleanup grants from the Washington State Department of Ecology. Commissioner Sarah Montano acknowledged the ongoing debate surrounding the warehouse but believed that securing the grant would not lock the port into a single path. Vasavada praised staff's business agility but noted a need for improvement in communicating decision-making methods, and called for the implementation of long-term strategic frameworks such as a 10-year capital plan to confirm operational direction, while urging Smith to address unresolved issues and share information with the public.
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