Federal Partnerships: Miami, Pascagoula

Miami: PortMiami and U.S. Customs and Border Protection Partner in "Section 560" for Reimbursable Services

PortMiami was chosen to participate in the Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act 2013 in "Section 560" for reimbursable services.

All costs incurred by CBP involving the provision of Customs and immigration inspection-related services are reimbursable under Section 560. Those costs may include salaries, benefits, facility upgrades and equipment, transportation, relocation expenses and overtime expenses incurred as a result of the services requested.

"PortMiami’s partnership with CBP is critical for our stakeholder’s growth in trade and tourism," said Port Director Designee Juan M. Kuryla. "This agreement is to allow PortMiami to generate an alternative funding source to reimburse CBP for services in order to promote the United States economy and border security."

Payments received by CBP shall be used to reimburse CBP for the requested services, which may include primary processing, baggage control, inspections and radiation portal monitor staffing.

PortMiami Director Designee Juan Kuryla and local CBP officer shake hands on the new deal.
Photo/PortMiami

Pascagoula: Jackson County Supervisors Authorize $24 million for Port's Wood Pellet Exporting Facility

Jackson County supervisors recently authorized the borrowing of up to $24 million for the Port of Pascagoula to build a specialized wood pellet exporting facility on Bayou Casotte.

Florida-based Green Circle Bio Energy Inc., which plans to build a $115 million wood pellet plant in George County, will use the site to export up to 500,000 tons of pellets per year to European utility companies, Port Director Mark McAndrews has said.

The exporting facility is expected to cost about $30 million, with $15 million of that coming from port bonds. The state has put up $10 million for the project, and the terminal operator will invest $5 million.

The exporting facility will look similar to a grain elevator or bulk commodities facility, with silo storage facilities, an unloading facility for trucks and rail cars and a conveyor delivery system to the ship loader.

An additional $14 million from the U.S. Department of Transportation's Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery discretionary grant program also will work in conjunction with the project for intermodal improvements.

That TIGER grant will relocate the railroad interchange that blocks traffic every day in downtown Pascagoula and move it east of Miss. 611 and will reroute the Mississippi Export Railroad's line after it crosses the bridge near the old International Paper Co. site and follows the Kreole Lead.

The project will remove 16 rail crossings through Moss Point and Pascagoula, leaders have said.

"It's going to benefit not only the port but also the cities of Pascagoula and Moss Point and the general public," Supervisor John McKay said this morning.

The bonds must be issued within two years, and construction on the wood pellet exporting facility should begin by early 2015.

Instead of asking for $15 million in bonds, the port asked to borrow up to $24 million to give the project a cushion in case additional modifications to the wharf are needed.