(Louisville, Ky.) — The draft memorandum proposal for the Port of Cincinnati Boundary Re-designation was released to the public in July. The Louisville District is considering a proposal from the Port of Greater Cincinnati Development Authority and the Northern Kentucky Port Authority to re-designate the statistical boundaries of the existing Port of Cincinnati from 26 miles along the Ohio River to approximately 199 miles along the Ohio River and seven miles along the Licking River. The proposed re-designation would involve Ohio and Kentucky and 15 counties, five in Ohio and 10 in Kentucky.

The proposed re-designation affects only the geographic boundaries from which waterborne commerce data is compiled and published by the Corps of Engineers. The Port of Cincinnati was established by the Corps for the purpose of delineating an area for statistical data collection to describe the cargo movements on the Ohio River. The Port of Cincinnati re-designation proposal does not advocate or recommend the creation of any public port authority or commission to govern the overall operations or development of the expanded port area. Several existing public port authorities and economic development authorities operate independently and this action would not impact the governance of any existing or future port authority.

The Corps is the reviewing and approval agency for establishment, modification or deletion of officially designated port areas in the United States for which annual tonnage data are collected and published. In support of the re-designation, the Louisville District received legislative enactments from all 15 counties that would comprise the expanded port boundary. In addition, 33 written endorsements for the proposal have been received from local governments, congressional interests, the two involved states and other interested parties.

Public comments will be accepted from now through Aug. 8, 2014. Public and stakeholder comments will be considered for the final Louisville District Initiating Memorandum. The 30-day review period is done prior to the Corps making a decision to transmit the proposal forward to the Corps of Engineers Navigation and Civil Works Decision Support Center in Alexandria, Va. for final approval. Final approval of the re-designation is made by the Army Corps of Engineers Navigation and Civil Works Decision Support Center. The public comments and letters of support will form the basis for the Louisville District commander’s recommendation.

Provide comments by Aug. 8, 2014. Address all comments or inquiries to the Army Corps of Engineers Louisville District, P.O. Box 59, ATTN: Mr. Nathan A. Moulder, CELRL-PM-P-F, Louisville, KY 40201 or e-mail at Nathan.A.Moulder@usace.army.mil, or telephone at (502) 315-6776.