Plowing Through
The ICW’s Channels

The southern East Coast is in danger
of losing one of its most valuable assets.

The unbroken inland path of natural waterways, dredged canals and cuts known as the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway (AICW), could become a dotted line due to lack of dredging. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is responsible for maintaining the ICW. For the last several years, however, Congress has not allocated enough funds to do so. It’s a classic Catch-22 situation–only commercial tonnage, not recreational users, count as traffic. As the ICW deteriorates, fewer commercial vessels can use it and the barges that do carry less tonnage to reduce draft. Less tonnage equals fewer dollars for dredging. Oddly, military shipments are not included either, for national security reasons. That means the barges carrying aviation fuel from Jacksonville to the Beaufort, South Carolina, Naval Air Station aren’t considered. Then there’s Catch 22-Part II: The ICW exists to provide a safe alternative to historically treacherous areas such as Cape Hatteras and Frying Pan Shoals. As domestic federal funding shifts to Homeland Security, the U.S. Coast Guard sees its budgets for search and rescue missions cut, thus boat operators forced. ...

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