National Economic Development (NED) Plan

In evaluating the alternatives for a proposed action, all factors must be considered and a National Economic Development (NED) Plan determined, as well as an Environmental Quality (EQ) Plan. The NED Plan is the plan which maximizes the net annual benefits of the project. Based on the information available, Plan 1-40 is the National Economic Development (NED) Plan. The economic analysis of this alternative indicates this plan would produce the greatest net annual benefits of $3,045,600.

The EQ Plan is the plan that not only provides maximum protection for the environment, but also enhances the environment. None of the alternatives considered have provisions to enhance the environment. In cases where there is no EQ Plan, the Least Environmentally Damaging (LED) Plan must be identified. The no action alternative would project would leave the environment in essentially its existing condition.

Cost Summary of NED Plan

The following is a summary of the cost of Plan 1-40, the NED Plan. These costs are used later for developing cost sharing between the Federal government and the non-Federal local sponsor for the Selected Plan.

Dredging costs for Plan 1-40 are estimated to be $10,039,000, as shown in Table 35. This includes $44,000 for navigation aids for relocation of sea buoys.

Preconstruction Engineering and Design effort for Plan 1-40 is estimated to be $2,025,000, with an additional $324,000 for engineering during construction. Construction management is estimated to be $1,957,000. Costs for lands and damages, which includes sloughing easements, amount to $751,000.

Cultural resources costs are estimated to be $1,375,000. These costs are the same for both Plan 1-40, the NED Plan, and Plan 1-42 due to the small difference in affected areas for the two plans and the physical environment of the resources.

Locally Preferred Plan

A Locally Preferred Plan can also be designated, which may be different from the Federal NED plan. In this case, the Locally Preferred Plan is Plan 1-42.

The Georgia Ports Authority has adamantly stated that the future growth of the Port of Savannah will suffer severe losses without provisions for a 42-foot channel. Negotiations with several shipping lines for future use of the Port of Savannah are contingent upon a 42-foot channel. Georgia Ports Authority has conducted independent economic analyses of the need for a 42-foot channel. These studies have shown that, under their methodology and assumptions, the 42-foot channel would be preferred.

Selected Plan

After the NED, Locally Preferred Plan, and EQ or LED Plans have been determined, all technical, economic, and environmental data must be considered and a tentatively selected plan chosen, after a comparative analysis of the adverse effects and benefits of all the alternatives are considered in detail.

This study of harbor deepening resulted in a Federal NED plan with a 40-foot channel, and the Locally Preferred Plan is for a 42-foot channel. Major objectives in the planning and implementation of Federal navigation projects include the following:

o Ensure the prudent expenditures of Federal cost-sharing funding, which is evidenced through the NED plan.

o Minimize adverse environmental impacts, which, in some cases, requires that the EQ or LED plan be the selected plan if the NED plan would result in undesirable environmental impacts.

o Provide a navigation project which is acceptable to the local sponsor and is compatible with future requirements and conditions foreseen by the local sponsor.

The Federal Government can recommend the Locally Preferred Plan if it would come closer to meeting the intent of these broad planning objectives. However, if the Locally Preferred Plan has a higher cost than the NED plan, the local sponsor must pay for 100 percent of the incremental cost increase above the cost of the Federal NED plan. This local sponsor cost is in addition to the normal costsharing requirements which would be imposed on the NED plan. Georgia Ports Authority has indicated a strong desire and willingness to support and pay for the additional incremental costs of providing a 42-foot navigation channel.

Based on the data available, the Savannah District chose Plan 1-42 as the selected or preferred plan. The LED Plan (no action alternative) was not chosen because this plan would not result in any benefits to the existing Savannah Harbor.

The Selected Plan, Plan 1-42, would deepen the harbor channel and the jetties channel to an authorized depth of -42 feet mlw and deepen the bar channel to an authorized depth of -44 feet mlw. The harbor channel material would be placed in existing diked disposal areas. The jetties channel and bar channel material would be placed in the existing ocean disposal area. Present overdepth criteria would be retained, and there would be allowance for advance maintenance dredging.

Cost information on the Selected Plan is presented in the "Selected Plan" portion of this report.

ENGINEERING ANALYSIS OF SELECTED PLAN

The purpose of deepening the channel is to allow vessels to load deeper, thereby carrying larger loads at substantial transportation savings. These transportation savings comprise the benefits of deepening. The ultimate selection of a channel alternative requires the comparison of channel construction costs to the transportation benefits for each deeper draft loading case. It is clearly necessary to provide constructible channel depths which accommodate vessel draft.

Vessels moving in navigation channels must maintain clearance between their hulls and channel bottom; accordingly, various navigational design parameters were analyzed. These design parameters such as trim, squat, bottom clearance, and water density effects are totaled and added to the loaded vessel draft and are considered to be the effective navigational depth. The allowance parameters are discussed in more detail in the Engineering and Design Appendix.

Design Vessel Criteria

Design vessels are determined by examining the size of ships currently transiting the project reaches and those that could reasonably be expected in the future if the project were modified. Included in the project future fleet were "new builds" that had made a firm commitment to use the Port of Savannah. The Economic Analysis section of this report presents basic information on the existing world fleet and that portion of the world fleet currently calling on Savannah. Information on the selected design vessel was obtained from the Georgia Ports Authority.

The design vessel used in engineering and design considerations in deepening the harbor is a new build container vessel for Hanjin Lines, scheduled to call on Savannah in the near future. It is assumed the 3,646 Twenty-foot Equivalent Unit (TEU) vessel will be loaded to its design draft. Pertinent information on the design vessel is shown in Table 36. Also shown, for comparative purposes, is data for the design vessel used in the Savannah Harbor Widening Project, which is under construction at the present time. It should be noted that the comparative ship was an "Econo-class" container vessel formerly operated by the now defunct United States Lines and was only loaded to a 38-foot draft when calling on

The centerline alignment and bottom widths of the deepened ship channel would remain unchanged from the harbor configuration which will exist at the completion of the widening project currently under construction.

Figure 25 shows a typical template used to compute dredging quantities in the bar channel for Plan 1-42 and allocating them to either maintenance material or new work material. Figure 26 shows a similar template for the harbor channel and jetties channel. Table 37 shows the required dredging depths and the estimated quantities of material to be removed from each reach of the deepening project. The table shows the quantities to be removed to achieve a channel depth of 40 feet, plus advance maintenance. Table 37 also shows the quantity of material to be paid for by the local sponsor for the Locally Preferred Plan (Plan 1-42) which would require 4-foot deepening plus appropriate advance maintenance. The deepening project design prism will be dredged to the authorized project depth, including 85 percent of the side slope material, with no allowable paid overdepth. Much of the side slope material has been dredged as part of previous maintenance contracts.