Ports employ thousands of workers and are key drivers of regional economy; Millions of dollars in pending grants would allow ports to replace aging equipment and better compete in 21st century
ANACORTES, BELLINGHAM WA – Yesterday, U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) toured the Port of Bellingham and Port of Anacortes and participated in discussions with local leaders, who stressed the importance of the ports to the region’s economy. Port officials detailed pending grant applications with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) which would fund investments in new, clean port infrastructure that are crucial to maintaining the ports’ competitiveness.
“We need to do more as a maritime nation. And what can we do to bolster this important sector at a critical moment?” Sen. Cantwell said at the Port of Bellingham. “I’m going to just let you keep innovating, is what I’m really going to do. I’m just going to keep getting infrastructure investments so that you [can] keep innovating.”
“Ports are us in the State of Washington, and it really helps us grow jobs. We have a lot of maritime communities. It’s part of our heritage. We want it to be successful,” Sen. Cantwell said at the Port of Anacortes. “The maritime trades are just a big growth opportunity — so how do we prepare for that as a nation?”
The Port of Anacortes supports a year-round average of over 1,000 jobs and generates more than $14 million in economic activity annually. The Port is currently awaiting the EPA’s decision on a $63.8 million grant application through the Clean Port Program, which was established in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) with the support of Sen. Cantwell. The grant would facilitate the transition to zero-emission operations through the acquisition of electric port equipment and installation of shore power infrastructure.
The Port of Bellingham is the largest employer in Whatcom County, supporting more than 8,780 jobs through its marine, aviation, and real estate divisions, which represents 11 percent of local employment. The Port has applied for a $1.5 million grant from the Clean Port Program, which would help it identify the most efficient opportunities to decarbonize its infrastructure. In June 2024, the Port received a $17.9 million Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) grant from the BIL to allow it to reconnect with the North American rail network. This project complements the Port’s Shipping Terminal Modernization Project, which is funded in part by a $6.8 million Port Infrastructure Development Program award Senator Cantwell helped the Port secure in 2020. According to the Port, the Modernization project has already added 31 new permanent jobs.
As Chair of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, Sen. Cantwell has been a champion of infrastructure projects to grow and modernize Washington’s ports. In January, Sens. Cantwell and Murray helped to secure $12 million for the Northwest Seaport Alliance to install charging hubs for heavy-duty electric trucks at the Port of Tacoma and Port of Seattle.
In October of 2023, Sens. Cantwell and Murray announced that the Northwest Seaport Alliance would receive a $54.2 million federal grant for phase one of its Husky Terminal Expansion project, which will reconfigure the terminal yard to allow working two ultra-large ships instead of just one, install 40 refrigerated container racks for agricultural and seafood exporters, and relocate the North Intermodal Yard Tower and other support structures to create more efficient truck routes on the terminal. The grant was awarded through the Cantwell-championed Port Infrastructure Development Program.
In December 2022, Sen. Cantwell fought to include language in the National Defense Authorization Act that authorized the Army Corps of Engineers to deepen the Port of Tacoma’s Blair waterway so extra-large container ships can import and export goods out of the Port of Tacoma.
###