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President Trump Releases FY26 “Skinny” Budget
On May 2, President Trump released his FY2026 budget request. This request outlines the discretionary budget and provides top line numbers. As a result this is considered the “skinny” budget request. A comprehensive budget is anticipated to be released in the coming weeks.
This is the opening salvo on the FY2026 budget process. It is typical that the Administration will low-ball the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund (HMTF) for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps). Over the last few appropriations cycles, Congress typically provides the full annual HMT receipts and the incremental portion of the HMTF surplus. In 2024, Congress provided $2.77B for HMTF for the Corps. In 2025, PNWA and our port association colleagues nationwide were seeking $3.117B. However, the FY2025 funds enacted were essentially held to FY2024 numbers. Additional information is needed to calculate the HMTF amount that will be sought in FY2026. It is important to be vocal to our Pacific Northwest Congressional delegation about the importance of the HMTF and need for appropriating the full amount of funding allowed to address critical maintenance needs of our federal waterways.
Here are some key provisions included in the President’s FY2026 discretionary budget request:
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
- Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund – the President’s Budget proposes to utilize just $1.7B from the HMTF which is a $1.071B reduction from FY2024. The rationale provided is that out of the $2.8B appropriated in 2024, $1.4B remained unobligated in the first quarter of 2025. It also prioritizes maintaining commercial navigation over dredging berths.
- Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) program is reduced by $7M and is eliminated. The rationale provided is that the program is outside the Corps’ mission area and the program is duplicated in other agencies and not currently needed.
Department of Transportation
- Infrastructure for Rebuilding America Program (INFRA) increase of $770M over FY25 enacted level in addition to the $1.5B for INFRA in the IIJA (Bipartisan Infrastructure Law).
- Rail Safety and Infrastructure Grants increase of $400M for improving the safety, efficiency, and reliability of passenger and freight rail network.
- Shipbuilding and Port Infrastructure includes an increase of $596M to reinvigorate the U.S. shipbuilding and maritime industries.
- Assistance to Small Shipyards program provides $105M to incentivize domestic shipbuilding and the supply chain.
- Port Infrastructure Development Program (PIDP) provides $550M added to previously provided $450M will provide $1B in projects at ports.
Environmental Protection Agency
- Diesel Emissions Reduction Act (DERA) Grants program is eliminated (a reduction of $90M).
Department of Commerce
- Economic Development Administration and (EDA) program and Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA) program are reduced by $624M.
- National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)—Operations, Research, and Grants program is reduced by $1.311B.
- NOAA Procurement of Weather Satellites and Infrastructure is reduced by $209M but according to the Administration, the Budget would empower NOAA to negotiate contracts for satellites directly to reduce bureaucracy.
Department of the Interior
- U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) Ecological Services program is reduced by $37M.
- The Administration is consolidating the USFWS Ecological Services program and NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) Office of Protected Resources into a single program in the Department of Interior to reduce bureaucracy. These two agencies are responsible for administering the Endangered Species Act (Section 7 consultations) and the Marine Mammal Protection Act.
To read the President’s FY26 skinny budget proposal, click here.
To read the White House fact sheet, click here.
2025 PIDP NOFO has been revised
CHANGES TO THE FY 2025 NOFO
- The new PIPD Application Deadline is September 10th. There is $500M available.
This amendment to the FY 2025 PIDP NOFO originally published on December 20, 2024, makes the following changes:
- Removes references to rescinded Executive Orders
- Requires PIDP large project applicants, if applying to use a PIDP grant to acquire digital infrastructure or a software component, to ensure that they have a plan to address the cybersecurity risks of such digital infrastructure or software
- Updates rating rubrics for the statutory merit criteria to better align with new Executive Orders
- Includes $50 million in funding appropriated by the Full-Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, 2025 (Pub. L. 119-4, March 15, 2025) (“FY 2025 Appropriations Act”)
Details are available through this link: https://grants.gov/search-results-detail/358404
Click here for: FY 2025 Notice of Funding Opportunity PDF
Grantor Contact Information: If you have difficulty accessing the full announcement electronically, please contact:
Grants.gov Contact Center
Phone Number: 1-800-518-4726
A series of webinars explaining the application process will be scheduled soon, by MARAD.
MARAD Small Shipyard Grant Notice
MARAD released the Small Shipyard Grant Notice of Funding Opportunity which has $8.75millon available.
Applications due: May 15, 2025
Eligible Applicants: Small shipyards in a single location with less than 1,200 production employees. The shipyard must work on vessels 40 ft (or larger) for commercial or government use, or construct, repair, or reconfigure vessels 100 ft in length or greater for non-commercial vessels.
Eligible Projects: Capital Improvement Projects that increase efficiency, competitive operations, and quality in ship construction, repair, or reconfiguration.
Maritime Training Programs: These focus on developing employee skills and enhancing productivity in shipbuilding, ship repair, and related industries. While only eligible applicants can receive grants, training programs may involve external vendors. However, maritime training centers funded under section 51706 of Title 46 in FY 2024 are not eligible for additional grants for training.
Port of Lewiston Welcomes American Cruise Lines
The end of April, history was made in Lewiston, Idaho, as the American Jazz became the first cruise ship to dock overnight at the state’s only cruise boat dock. Congressman Russ Fulcher (ID-1) was on hand to welcome the vessel’s first official passengers and tour the facility alongside Port of Lewiston, General Manager Scott Corbitt and American Cruise Lines leadership.
In a statement following the visit, Rep. Fulcher said: “This marks an exciting new chapter for Idaho—one that brings together commerce, tourism, and education in a powerful way. The Port of Lewiston is already a critical hub for trade… Now, with American Cruise Lines bringing visitors from across the country, we have an incredible opportunity to showcase the beauty, history, and importance of the West, especially the role of the Lower Snake River Dams.”
The new dock and surrounding area are already looking great, with finishing touches still underway. This milestone not only boosts the region’s tourism economy, but also strengthens the case for preserving vital river infrastructure.
Judge Rules in NMFS’s favor in Skagit Dike District 12 Case
On April 28, the Western District Court of Washington issued an order in the Skagit County District No. 12 case denying Skagit Dike District 12’s Motion for Summary Judgment and Granted National Marine Fisheries Services (NMFS) Motion for Summary Judgment. It is not known yet whether Skagit Dike District 12 will appeal the decision or not. PNWA’s attorneys at Schwabe are still reviewing the decision but provided some key points from the Court’s conclusion below.
- Skagit Dike District 12 argued that the environmental baseline improperly excluded the existing tidegate. The judge noted, “The NNS BiOp notes the degradation and failure could result in some negative impacts such as creosote piles subsiding into the water, but would mostly result in positive impacts, such as enabling estuary habitat-forming processes to occur and allowing unimpeded fish access. Id…” and, “Based on this analysis, NMFS appropriately excluded the future effects of the rebuilt NNS Tidegate from the environmental baseline, reasonably finding that future effects should be considered as effects of the NNS Tidegate Project. The Court finds the NMFS’s environmental baseline analysis is lawful, reasonable, and supported by the record.”
- The Court also sided with NMFS on their jeopardy and adverse modification determination as reasonable. The Court relied on the agency’s determination that if the tidegate exists for 50 more years then it would continue the degraded habitat without providing meaningful habitat mitigation to offset and likely result in jeopardy to the species.
- The Court also accepted the adequacy of the Conservation Calculator. It is not clear if the Court understands the Conservation Calculator, but seemed impressed enough by the technical analysis that went into the application of the calculator to deem the use of the calculator in NMFS’ development of the Reasonable and Prudent Alternative (RPA) as appropriate.
It seems counterintuitive for the court to find it mostly a positive outcome for a failing tidegate which would result in allowing flooding that risks loss of life and property, saltwater infiltration into lands that have been farmed for almost 100 years, and negative environmental impacts from infrastructure with toxic material crumbling into Puget Sound as preferrable. It is also exceedingly frustrating that the court accepted NMFS’ new interpretation of environmental baseline.
While it is certainly not the outcome PNWA hoped for, it is exceedingly difficult to sue federal agencies on environmental issues, particularly in the Western District. That said, PNWA did provide an amicus brief in the National Hydropower Association & Northwest Hydroelectric Association (NHA/NWHA) case in the DC Circuit Court challenging NMFS’ authority claimed through rulemaking to require conservation offsets for projects that do not have a jeopardy biological opinion. We await the results of that case as well.
In June, Jenna Friebel, Executive Director of the Skagit Drainage and Irrigation District Consortium and Jenna Mandell-Rice, attorney and partner at Van Ness Feldman will provide an overview of the case and update at the PNWA Summer Conference in Bellingham. Jenna Mandell-Rice is also the attorney for the NHA/NWHA case too.
To read the order/decision, click here.
PNWA Submits WRDA 2024 Guidance Comments
On April 29, PNWA submitted comments to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on guidance implementation for the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) of 2024. PNWA offered comments on all five policies and projects secured in WRDA 2024 including:
- Confined Aquatic Structures for the Lower Columbia River
Section 1139 – Ability to Pay – seeking a waiver of the cost share for confined aquatic structures on the Lower Columbia River
Section 1244 – GAO Studies – seeking to ensure that the study of dredged material disposal sites with an emphasis on confined aquatic structures can proceed independently of the cost share waiver so the Lower Columbia River project does not have to wait for a study to be completed before the project can move forward. - Replacement of the Dredge Oregon
Section 1325 – Columbia River Channel, Oregon and Washington – seeking immediate implementation of the clear language to reimburse the Port of Portland for the replacement of the Dredge Oregon. - Pile Dike Maintenance Clarification
Section 1136 – Federal Breakwaters and Jetties – to clarify that pile dikes disconnected from the shoreline or the channel can be repaired.
Section 1365 – Maintenance of Pile Dike System – confirming the Corps’ continued operation and maintenance of the pile dikes on the Lower Columbia and Willamette Rivers. - Port of Skamania County Conveyance
Section 1306 – Conveyances – after almost 40 years, confirming directive to convey land and property from the Corps to the Port of Skamania County and waiving the Department of Interior’s first right of refusal to the site. - Mount St. Helens Sediment Control Study to Add Navigation
Section 1201 – Authorization of Proposed Feasibility Studies – authorizing a study dredging for navigation to the Mount St. Helens Sediment Control project in addition to dredging for flood risk management. It is hoped this can be done far sooner than the planned 50 year management plan update in 2035.
In addition, PNWA provided comments on the following:
- WRDA 2022 Section 214 Clarification for Mitigation Banks
Section 1133 – Funding to Process Permits – in addition to adding Tribes as an eligible entity to contribute funds to the Corps for expediting permits, PNWA reminded the Corps that their interpretation of WRDA 2022 Section 214 as it relates to mitigation banks is not consistent with Congressional intent and urged alignment and implementation of the plain language. - Section 1244 GAO Studies – seeking to prioritize Corps participation in and completion of the following studies and reports:
- Report on Material Contaminated by a Hazardous Substance and the Civil Works Program – to identify specific statutory, regulatory, and guidance hurdles to the Corps being able to dredge federally authorized channels and harbors to their authorized depths due to federal and state designated toxic substances.
- Study on the Distribution of Funding from the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund
- Study on Donor Ports
To read the PNWA comment letter, click here.
M-84 Workshop
Register today to engage in the upcoming M-84 workshop, where speakers from around the region will delve into the opportunities around the M-84 Corridor. Topics of discussion will encompass commerce, transportation, recreation, supply chain, federal partnerships and the future of the waterway. Space is limited, so make your reservation today!
M-84 Workshop
June 24, 2025
Mountain Timber Market, Kalama, WA
Registration: 8 – 8:30 a.m.
Workshop: 8:30 a.m. – 4 p.m.
For more information, please contact Summers Miya at smiya@portofbenton.com or 509-375-3060.
Eugenio Piñeiro Soler Appointed to Lead NOAA Fisheries
On April 14, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick announced the appointment of Eugenio Piñeiro Soler as the Assistant Administrator for NOAA Fisheries. In the previous Trump Administration, he served as the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere.
According to his biography, he is an entrepreneur, a fisheries captain, and was a commercial fisherman. He has also participated in research with the NOAA Fisheries Cooperative Research Program on deepwater snappers and participated in oceanic conservation organizations including the Caribbean Fishery Management Council, the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas, the International Whaling Commission, and the Marine Protected Area Federal Advisory Committee.
Emily Menashes, had been the Acting Assistant Administrator for NOAA Fisheries and will now return to her position as the Deputy Assistant Administrator for Operations for NOAA Fisheries. There seems to be some regulatory, economic, and management concerns from environmental advocates that note a career scientist and regulator has been replaced by someone from industry to oversee the $320 billion fishing industry.
Eugenio Piñeiro Soler earned a bachelor’s degree in Philosophy from Radford University, and his law degree (JD) from Catholic University Law School of Puerto Rico.