The federal budget for 2022 that has been released, and includes more than $6.79 billion in discretionary funding for the Civil Works program of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, with just over $89.3 million set aside for Buffalo District projects on Lake Erie.

Great significance for the region is an additional $500,000 for the Great Lakes Coastal Resiliency Study. Recent high-water events across the Great Lakes, especially in Port Clinton and around Ottawa County, spotlight the need for the study.

The study will include the three Great Lakes districts, Buffalo, Chicago and Detroit. The goal is to create a plan identifying vulnerable coastal areas and recommending actions to bolster the coastal resources’ ability to withstand, recover from and adapt to future hydrologic uncertainty with respect to built and natural coastal environments.

The Civil Works budget funds the Operation and Maintenance Program, which includes the maintenance of federal shipping channels and navigation structures within the Buffalo District’s area of responsibility.

The FY22 funding will be distributed among the Ohio projects as follows: Ashtabula Harbor, $457,000; Cleveland Harbor, $10,020,000; Conneaut Harbor, $2,764,000; Fairport Harbor, $3,880,000; Huron Harbor, $8,000; Lorain Harbor, $2,317,000; Sandusky Harbor, $1,463,000; Toledo Harbor, $6,929,000; Vermillion Harbor, $5,700,000.