Port Of Bellingham

Port of Bellingham, a municipal port authority and U.S. local government entity based in Bellingham, Washington, operates as a federal grant recipient funding airport and maritime infrastructure improvements across the Pacific Northwest, with a cumulative federal grant portfolio of approximately $25.3 million in recent awards spanning airport terminal rehabilitation, runway reconstruction, shipping terminal pier repairs, and emissions-reduction planning.

The Port holds no federal contracts as a prime or sub-contractor; its federal footprint consists exclusively of project grants and formula grants from the Department of Transportation (Federal Aviation Administration and Maritime Administration), the Environmental Protection Agency, and other civilian agencies. The Port receives no contract vehicles, sits on no IDIQs or GWACs, and operates outside the commercial contract space entirely. This profile reflects the Port's statutory role as a public infrastructure recipient rather than a procurement vendor.

Recent grant work spans three capability areas. Airport infrastructure modernization dominates the grant portfolio: the Federal Aviation Administration Northwest Mountain Region has awarded the Port multiple grants totaling approximately $20 million cumulatively for runway rehabilitation (including $9.8 million for Phase 2 runway 16/34 reconstruction and lighting, $1.3 million for Phase 1 design of runway rehabilitation, and $791 thousand for Phase 1 design of taxiway and runway work), taxiway reconfiguration ($3.2 million for Phase 3 taxiway F paving), terminal equipment replacement ($1.0 million for chilling unit replacement), and aircraft rescue and firefighting vehicle acquisition ($1.1 million). Maritime infrastructure is the second capability area: the Maritime Administration awarded the Port $17.9 million on September 25, 2025, under the Ballast Water Treatment Technologies program (CFDA 20.819) to fund final design and construction of rail infrastructure improvements connecting the Bellingham Shipping Terminal to the BNSF mainline, and an earlier Maritime Administration grant of $6.6 million (comprised of separate awards in August 2023 and April 2026) for pier rehabilitation and dredging at the shipping terminal to enable handling of heavy and oversized cargo. Emissions and sustainability planning represents the third area: the Environmental Protection Agency Region 10 awarded the Port a $2.4 million Inflation Reduction Act grant in December 2024 for port-wide emissions inventory, energy transition planning, and workforce engagement, with sub-recipients National Renewable Energy Laboratory and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory; the EPA also awarded $1.1 million in August 2024 to replace up to five older diesel marine engines. A Marine Highway Grants award of $1.7 million from the Maritime Administration in August 2024 funds design and construction of a portable barge ramp at the Bellingham Shipping Terminal to support West Coast M-5 Coastal Connector barge service.

The Port's grant customer base is concentrated among modal infrastructure agencies. The FAA Northwest Mountain Region alone accounts for 25 awards across runway, taxiway, and terminal projects; the Maritime Administration issued three large awards totaling $25.6 million for shipping terminal and rail infrastructure; and the EPA Region 10 holds two awards totaling $3.5 million for emissions reduction. A single sub-award appears in the source: the Port sub-awarded work to the Executive Office of the State of Washington in January 2023 for middle-mile fiber construction in north Whatcom County under a state broadband infrastructure grant.

The Port's annual award volume has been modest and episodic — three grants in 2022, four in 2023, five in 2024, two in 2025, and five to date in 2026 — reflecting project-phase funding cycles typical of transportation infrastructure grants. Only two awards face ultimate completion within the next twenty-four months, suggesting limited near-term recompete exposure. The Port operates exclusively as a grant recipient and does not participate in commercial federal contracting, subcontracting, or competitive procurement vehicles; its revenue model is federal and state infrastructure grant funding tied to specific airport and port capital projects.