06-30-2003 Bayport Expansion Review CommitteeMeeting

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• • 148. Prior to the release of the FEIS these residents had been given not a clue that a significant vibrations impact would occur in their neighborhood. (9). New Information on Post-Panamax Vessels Necessitates Future Deepening of the Bayport and Houston Ship Channels 149. GBCPA and other plaintiffs have been concerned since the inception of the Bayport Project about whether the Houston Ship Channel and the Bayport Channel would need to be deepened sometime in the future to accommodate the larger container ships called post- Panamax vessels that are now used in maritime commerce. 150. The Bayport channel is currently dredged to 40 feet of depth 151. The Houston Ship Channel is now being dredged to 45 feet. 152. The initial public notice describing the proposed Bayport container facility identified that the PHA was seeking permission to construct the docks adjacent to the container wharfs to a depth of 56 feet. 153. In the scoping meeting, concern was raised about the potential deepening of the Houston Ship Channel to 50 feet or greater depths. 154. In the Bayport DEIS, the Corps stated that in order to accommodate existing and projected growth in vessel activity, further deepening/widening of the Houston Ship Channel and its connecting channels would likely be necessary. (DEIS, p.4-15). 155. In the Bayport DEIS in the section entitled "Issues Raised During the Scoping Process", the Corps identified key topic azeas that have been addressed in the DEIS, including "the impacts of the proposed dredging on marine life in Galveston Bay, including the impacts of future deepening of the Houston Ship Channel and Bayport channel to at least 50 feet". (DEIS, p. 5-4). 20.