Following on the heels of the U.S. DOT’s $275,000 grant to the Blue Coast Intermodal project, Congressman Mike Thompson visited the Eureka waterfront earlier this month to laud the project and what it represents for Humboldt County and the West Coast.

The Blue Coast Intermodal Project (also known as the West Coast Hub Feeder Project) has been awarded $275,000 by the U.S. Department of Transportation as part of a federal initiative designed to move cargo along rivers and coasts rather than highways. This is the first time ever that a Marine Highway program west of the Gulf Coast has received federal funding.

“This is a decisive moment for transportation on the West Coast,” said HML founder Stephen Pepper. “The environmental and economic repercussions of this project extend through multiple states. This funding is a strong message to both the private and public sectors that Washington D.C. is serious about finding Marine Highway solutions.”

U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood has designated a joint project between Humboldt Maritime Logistics and the Humboldt Bay Recreation and Conservation District as being eligible for funding as part of a federal initiative designed move cargo along rivers and coasts rather than highways.
The joint project is one of 14 groups and agencies in the nation (and one of only two on the West Coast) to achieve this status.

From contracostatimes.com: A Harbor District committee charged with charting an economic course has made a series of recommendations aimed at boosting shipping, industrial, aquaculture and tourism on Humboldt Bay.

Expected to be presented to the Humboldt Bay Harbor, Recreation and Conservation District in May, the Economic Development Committee’s final report holds that there is not enough business to justify building a public marine terminal at the district’s Redwood Dock. Instead, the report concludes that the district should look at ways to encourage business on industrial land around the bay by helping streamline permitting and adjusting zoning.

John Driscoll at The Times-Standard filed this report from the most recent Humboldt Bay Harbor District meeting.
“A heavily trimmed budget has seemingly only intensified the debate over the direction the Humboldt Bay Harbor, Recreation and Conservation District should chart into the future. At a public hearing on the preliminary budget — cut by $350,000 from its first draft — commissioners sparred over how those cuts should be made, and whether potential changes in policy should be discussed before or after a final budget is approved.” [...]