Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation Budget

Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation

Overview: The U.S. Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation (SLSDC), a wholly owned government corporation and an operating administration of DOT, is responsible for the operations and maintenance of the U.S. portion of the Saint Lawrence Seaway between Montreal and Lake Erie. This responsibility includes maintaining and operating the two U.S. Seaway locks located in Massena, NY, and vessel traffic control in areas of the Saint Lawrence River and Lake Ontario. In addition, the SLSDC performs trade development functions designed to enhance utilization of the Great Lakes Saint Lawrence Seaway System.

The SLSDC coordinates its activities with its Canadian counterpart, the Saint Lawrence Seaway Management Corporation (SLSMC), particularly with respect to rules and regulations, overall day-to-day operations, traffic management, navigation aids, safety, environmental programs, operating dates, and trade development functions. The unique binational nature of the Seaway System requires 24-hour, yearround coordination between the two Seaway entities.

The SLSDC's 2004 performance goal is to ensure that the locks are available 99 percent of the time for passage. In 2002, SLSDC achieved 99.1 percent system availability through periodic inspections of lock equipment and a thorough winter maintenance program.

	2002 Actual	2003 1/ Request	2004 1/ Request
Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation Budget (Dollars in Millions)
	2002 Actual	2003 1/ Request
Operations and Maintenance (HMTF)	13	14	14
TOTAL	13	14	14
1/ Excludes estimated accrual payments for civil service retirement and health benefits.

FY 2004 Budget:

The FY 2004 budget request totals $14.4 million from the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund, which together with miscellaneous other non-federal revenues, will finance SLSDC's 2004 activities.