April 20, 2015 The Honorable Anthony Foxx, Secretary U.S. Department of Transportation 1200 New Jersey Ave., SE Washington, DC 20590 Dear Secretary Foxx: I am writing to express the Pacific Northwest Waterways Association’s (PNWA) support for the Port of Tacoma’s application for a $15.8 million grant under the United States Department of Transportation’s Fiscal Year (FY) 2015 Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) Discretionary Grants program (CFDA 20.933) for its Terminal 4 Pier Modernization project. PNWA is a regional trade association established in 1934 which addresses federal policies and projects related to navigation and other transportation, trade, energy and environmental issues. We encourage development of the region’s multi-modal transportation system to provide safe, secure, efficient, competitive links to domestic and world markets and our membership supports projects such as this one, to advance the region’s economic health and competitive position in world markets. Terminal 4, part of the Husky Container Terminal, has become outdated in the face of modern containerized ship building trends. With wharfs constructed at odd alignments and cranes unable to handle increasingly larger ships, Terminal 4 is in need of improvements. The Port is seeking federal funds to rebuild the Terminal 4 pier, aligning it with the neighboring Terminal 3 pier to create one contiguous 2,960 foot long pier structure capable of simultaneously berthing two ultra-large container ships. The new pier structure will also be designed to accommodate modern 24-container wide, 100- guage cranes needed to work larger vessels. The planned upgrades to the Terminal 4 pier will allow the Husky Container Terminal to increase the size of ships it can handle. Today, the terminal can serve ships that carry 6,500 Twenty-Foot Equivalent Unit (TEU) containers. After the improvements, the terminal will be able to handle 18,000-TEU vessels with the new cranes, increasing cargo throughput capacity across the pier from about 767,000 TEUs annually to an estimated 1.3 million TEUs. It is the increased throughput that will create the demand for new family-wage jobs in the region. Today, an estimated 1,519 jobs in Washington State are somehow connected to the movement of cargo through the Husky Container Terminal. The replacement of the Terminal 4 pier will not only ensure the terminal’s tenants remain in Tacoma, but will also provide more cargo throughput and ensure the Terminal remains competitive in today's evolving international shipping market-- providing an opportunity to increase the number of jobs associated with the terminal over time. I would like to thank you for your time and review of this grant request and urge you give the Port of Tacoma grant application full and fair consideration. Sincerely, Kristin Meira Executive Director Pacific Northwest Waterways Association PNWA Membership Roster Advanced American Construction Idaho AFL-CIO Port of Humboldt Bay AECOM Idaho Wheat Commission Port of Ilwaco Almota Elevator Company ILWU Oregon Area District Council Port of Kalama American Construction ILWU Puget Sound District Council Port of Klickitat American Waterways Operators J-U-B Engineers, Inc. Port of Lewiston Apollo Mechanical Contractors Kalama Export Company Port of Longview Ball Janik LLP Kiewit Infrastructure West Co. Port of Morrow Bell Buoy Crab Co. KPFF Consulting Engineers Port of Newport Benton County PUD #1 Lampson International, LLC Port of Pasco BergerABAM Engineers, Inc. Landau Associates Port of Port Angeles Bergerson Construction, Inc. LD Commodities Pacific, LLC Port of Portland BNSF Railway Company Lewis-Clark Terminal Association Port of Ridgefield BST Associates MacKay & Sposito Port of Royal Slope Business Oregon Infrastructure Marine Industrial Construction Port of Seattle Finance Authority McGregor Company Port of Siuslaw Central Oregon Basalt Products Millennium Bulk Terminals Port of Skagit Central Washington Grain Growers Moffatt & Nichol Port of St. Helens Clark Public Utilities Morrow Pacific Project Port of Sunnyside Clearwater Paper Corporation Normandeau Associates, Inc. Port of Tacoma Collins Engineers Inc. Northwest Grain Growers, Inc. Port of Toledo Columbia Basin Development Northwest Public Power Assoc. Port of Umatilla League OBEC Consulting Engineers Port of Umpqua Columbia County Grain Growers OR Public Ports Association Port of Vancouver Columbia Grain OR Wheat Growers League Port of Walla Walla Columbia River Bar Pilots Pacific Northwest Farmers Co-op Port of Whitman County Columbia River Pilots Pacific Northwest International Port of Woodland Columbia River Port Engineers Trade Association Puget Sound Pilots Columbia River Steamship Parsons Brinckerhoff Schwabe, Williamson & Wyatt Operators Association PBS Engineering & Environmental Scoular Company Columbia River Towboat PND Engineers, Inc. SDS Tug & Barge Association PNGC Power Shaver Transportation Company Cooperative Agricultural Producers Pomeroy Grain Growers Stoel Rives LLP David Evans and Associates Port of Anacortes Tangent Services, Inc. Dunlap Towing Port of Astoria Teevin Bros. Dutra Group Port of Bandon TEMCO East Columbia Basin Irrigation Port of Bellingham Tidewater District Port of Benton United Grain Corporation EGT, LLC Port of Camas-Washougal USA Dry Pea & Lentil Council, Inc. Environ Port of Cascade Locks Vancouver Energy Foss Maritime Company Port of Chelan County Van Ness Feldman Foster Pepper Port of Chinook WA Association of Wheat Growers Franklin PUD Port of Clarkston WA Council on International Trade GEI Consultants Port of Columbia County WA Grain Commission Global Partners LP Port of Coos Bay WA Public Ports Association Gordon Thomas Honeywell Port of Everett WA State Potato Commission Government Affairs Port of Garibaldi Westwood Shipping Lines Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Port of Grays Harbor Whole Brain Creative Hart Crowser, Inc. Port of Hood River Wildlands, Inc. .