Northwest Tennessee Regional Port Authority and Corps to sign new Project Cooperation Agreement

Memphis District
Published Sept. 30, 2020
Media Alert

Media Alert

WHAT: The Northwest Tennessee Regional Port Authority and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Memphis District will hold a Project Cooperation Agreement (PCA) Signing Ceremony. The new PCA removes both the Northwest Tennessee Harbor Project federal limit on financial obligations and the 50-year limitation. The PCA signing is the culmination of a successful joint effort to both improve the PCA and make the great partnership between the two agencies even greater.

WHO: Northwest Tennessee Regional Port Authority and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Memphis District.

WHEN: Tuesday, October 6, 2020 at 1:30 p.m.

WHERE: Northwest Tennessee Regional Port Authority, 4480 Cates Landing Road, Tiptonville, TN 38079

WHY: In 2005, the Department of the Army and the Northwest Tennessee Regional Port Authority signed the Northwest Tennessee Harbor Project Cooperation Agreement which authorized construction of the Northwest Tennessee Regional Harbor. Harbor construction consisted of the Memphis District clearing vegetation, dredging a navigation channel 9,000 feet long, bottom width of 130 feet and a 300-foot-wide turning basin; and the Northwest Tennessee Regional Port Authority establishing the adjacent port facility and industrial area.

The PCA established a total Federal Government financial obligation limit of $4,500,000 or 2.25 percent of the total cost for planning, design, and construction of the Project, whichever is greater. Once the limit is reached, the Northwest Tennessee Regional Port Authority is responsible for operating and maintaining the project’s general navigation features. Under the PCA, the Federal Government’s responsibility for operation and maintenance of the general navigation features could not extend beyond 50 years from the date of the end of the period of construction.

In 2018, the Northwest Tennessee Regional Port Authority requested an amendment to the PCA and the Operations and Maintenance Manual that removes dredging cost from the Federal Government’s financial limitation for operation and maintenance. The Memphis District joined its partner in the request by submitting supporting documentation and taking the additional step of requesting removal of the 50-year limitation.

The celebratory PCA signing ceremony is the culmination of a successful joint effort to both improve the PCA and make a great partnership even greater.


Contact
Kenneth Williams
901-544-3360
kenneth.williams@usace.army.mil

Release no. 20-070