The funding for all projects on waterways that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has determined to be andquot;low useandquot; will be cut from the 2003 Federal Budget. One of the hardest hit by these cuts is the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway. This means no river cleanup on the Miami River and a halt to critical dredging projects along the waterway.
The Army Corps of Engineers considers the Atlantic ICW a andquot;low useandquot; waterway because it has relatively little barge traffic, despite the large volume of other commercial and recreation traffic.
Two years ago, the budget for the Atlantic ICW was $23.2 million; last year it was cut in half. The 2003 budget leaves no money for cleanup or to insure that channels are dredged for safe navigation.