The $834 million Wilmington Harbor Navigation Improvement Project is nearing an approval hurdle.

Language for the project is included in the Water Resources Development Act of 2020, a bill being considered by Congress in this year's session, Brian Clark, deputy executive director of N.C. Ports, said this week during the port authority meeting.

Clark said Thursday it’s coming down to the end of the Congressional session.

“This House language was voted on two weeks ago, and then it was shared with the Senate. The Senate has reviewed and potentially is aligned on the language outside of provisions related to harbor maintenance tax. So, there’s ongoing debate between the House and the Senate on that harbor maintenance tax, and really has nothing to do with our project," Clark said. "But we are expecting that when these negotiations are complete, our language will remain and the project itself will be included in the WRDA 2020 bill."

Congress has previously enacted WRDA legislation in 2014, 2016 and 2018, according to a government website.

The Wilmington Harbor Navigation Improvement Project aims to deepen the navigational channel leading to the Port of Wilmington from 42 feet to 47 feet. 

N.C. Ports is not the only port looking to make such changes to its channel. Neighboring ports in Virginia and Georgia are doing the same, seeking to deepen channels to usher in larger cargo ships reaching the East Coast.

As ocean carriers continue to increase in size, they require more room and deeper channels to navigate.

Just over the past year, the Port of Wilmington has seen some of the largest ships reaching ports along the East Coast. In October, N.C. Ports made history, welcoming the first-ever 14,000 twenty-foot-equivalent unit cargo vessel docking at the Port of Wilmington.

N.C. Port officials have said they expect even more of these large cargo ships to reach the Port of Wilmington in the future.

There is currently no timeline available, however, for when work on the project would start should the bill meet Congressional approval, port officials said in an email Friday.

“We’re excited. The Section 203 Study was authorized by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Civil Works) earlier this year and submitted to Congress by the assistant secretary of the army (Civil Works), which paved the way for the project to be considered for Congressional approval," Clark said. 

The Section 203 Study was conducted by N.C. Ports per an Army Corps of Engineers process, according to port officials. "The study explored the optimal depth of the harbor while taking steps to avoid or minimize any adverse environmental impacts," officials said Friday.

“We do expect with authorization there will be conditions,” Clark said, adding that there is further language in the WRDA bill that states federal officials can identify certain modifications and work conditions as a requirement for approval.

Clark expects with authorization there will be a requirement that N.C. Ports include the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) processes and other studies before the Wilmington Harbor project is a fully authorized project, he said.

“And that work will take place, again, upon authorization this year,” Clark said. “That NEPA work and other studies will take place over the course of the next 12 to 18 months.”