Port of Wilmington Section 203 Navigation Channel Improvement

Moffatt & Nichol was part of a team retained by theNorth Carolina State Port Authority (NCSPA) to conduct a feasibility study ofpotential navigation improvements at the Port of Wilmington. The feasibilitystudy and resulting project was carried out under the authority granted bySection 203 of WRDA 1986, as amended by Section 1014 (a) of the Water ResourcesReform and Development Act (WRRDA) of 2014, which provides for a non-federalentity to perform the necessary investigations and submit the completed feasibilitystudy to the Assistant Secretary of the Army (Civil Works) for review andpotential recommendation to Congress for project authorization.

The Feasibility Study’s objective was to prepare a Section203 Feasibility Study and Environmental Report that fully complied with allFederal laws and regulations applicable to General Investigations deep draftnavigation feasibility studies, and enable the ASA (CW) to make appropriaterecommendations to the Congress regarding authorization of a Federal navigationproject for Port of Wilmington. Moffatt & Nichol performed hydrodynamic,sediment transport, vessel wake and wind wave modeling to support the project’salternative plan formulation and evaluation. In addition, Moffatt & Nicholconducted ship simulation studies to determine necessary channel dimensions forthe larger design vessel and prepared 35 percent design drawings.