U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) issued a statement following the announcement that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) will provide the final federal reimbursement to South Carolina for the Charleston Harbor Deepening project. The USACE confirmed it will allocate $21.28 million in its fiscal year 2025 Work Plan to reimburse the state.
Senator Graham, South Carolina Ports Authority President and CEO Barbara Melvin, and Lt. Col. Todd Mainwaring, district commander of USACE Charleston District, gathered earlier in the day to mark this milestone.
“This is great news for the Port of Charleston and the people of South Carolina. Success doesn’t just happen – you’ve got to roll up your sleeves and stay engaged – and that’s what we did. As a state, federal and local team, we devised a creative solution to ensure that SC Ports had the deepest harbor on the East Coast. The deepening of the Charleston Harbor is about jobs – both today and in the future. It also ensures that the Port remains a multi-billion dollar economic engine that will continue to benefit South Carolina and the rest of the country. Governor McMaster, Senator Leatherman and their colleagues invested state money up front to make sure the harbor deepening project stayed on track. I committed early on to ensure the federal government reimbursed South Carolina for this important investment. With this announcement from the Army Corps of Engineers, we have fulfilled that promise. I am very grateful to the Trump Administration for making this happen,” said Senator Graham.
The Charleston Harbor Deepening project began in 2011 with initial funding secured by Graham for an early study phase. In 2012, South Carolina allocated $300 million toward advancing construction more quickly at a state level while seeking further federal support.
Construction officially started in 2018 after additional funding was obtained through Army Corps Work Plans over several years. In subsequent years, Graham continued efforts in Congress for federal appropriations aimed at both construction costs and eventual reimbursement to South Carolina.
Graham noted ongoing efforts: “Equally as important as the reimbursement for South Carolina, I pushed – for more than ten years – for significant federal funding to be directed toward the harbor deepening project. Whether through congressionally directed spending requests or authorizations for federal funding, my attitude toward the harbor deepening project was ‘failure is not an option.’ I couldn’t be more proud of what we were able to accomplish and I am so excited to see the Port continue to grow and cement its status as a premier port on the East Coast.”
The completion of Charleston Harbor’s deepening in 2022-2023 established it as having the deepest port on the East Coast at 52 feet—a development expected to support international manufacturing operations in South Carolina and attract new business investments.
In recent years, Graham secured $10 million in congressionally directed spending for reimbursement in 2023, followed by $25 million in 2024, leading up to this final allocation announced by USACE for fiscal year 2025.
