On January 14, 2009, the Navy announced that it wants to transfer one of its nuclear-powered aircraft carriers (CVNs) to the Navy home port at Mayport, FL, known formally as Naval Station (NAVSTA) Mayport. The Navy's proposed FY2010 budget requests $46.3 million in Military Construction (MilCon) funding for channel dredging at Mayport. The Navy states that a key reason it wants to transfer a CVN to Mayport is to hedge against the risk of a catastrophic event that could damage the Navy's CVN homeporting facilities at Norfolk, VA, and nearby Newport News, VA. This report discusses potential questions for Congress to consider related to budget appropriations for such a transfer, the potential negative economic effects that a CVN transfer would have on the local homeport, and the other general questions regarding the Navy.

This report provides background information and issues for Congress on the Navy's proposal to homeport a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier (CVN) at Mayport, FL. Transferring a CVN from Norfolk, VA, to Mayport would shift from Norfolk to Mayport the local economic activity associated with homeporting a CVN, which some sources estimate as being worth hundreds of millions of dollars per year.

This report provides background information and issues for Congress on the Navy's desire to homeport a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier (CVN) at Mayport, FL. Prior to the submission of the FY2013 budget, Navy plans called for having Mayport ready to homeport a CVN in 2019.

From introduction: The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, conducted a 1-year study to determine the effects of proposed deepening of the navigation channel on the surficial aquifer. A specific objective was to determine the degree of interconnection that exists current between the limestone adjacent to the river and the limestone in the riverbed that is to be dredged.

"Duval County in northeastern Florida and adjacent to the Atlantic Ocean contains approximately 840 square miles of which approximately 80 square miles are covered by water. The county is drained by three major rivers, the St. Johns, Nassau, and St. Marys. In addition, the coastal areas are drained by numerous small streams that empty into the Intracoastal Waterway or the Atlantic Ocean."