Port Of Corpus Christi Authority Of Nueces County, Texas

The Port of Corpus Christi Authority of Nueces County, Texas, operating as the Corpus Christi Public Cotton Compress, is a local government-owned port authority registered to receive federal awards since October 2004. As one of the largest ports in the United States, the Port of Corpus Christi plays a critical role in maritime commerce and serves as a vital transportation infrastructure hub for the region. The entity receives federal funding primarily through grant awards rather than contracts, focusing on enhancing port security, maritime infrastructure development, environmental sustainability, and emergency response capabilities that benefit both the port operations and surrounding disadvantaged communities.

The Port of Corpus Christi Authority has minimal federal contract award activity on record. The entity received a single federal contract award from the U.S. Coast Guard in June 2021, valued at three hundred dollars, for a Purchase Order related to priority annual operating cost for a lift station item classified as non-accountable property in accordance with Coast Guard property management procedures (COMDTINST M4500.5). This modest contract award demonstrates limited prime contracting engagement with the federal government, with no set-aside designations applied and a completion date of July 1, 2021.

The Port of Corpus Christi Authority has been significantly more active in securing federal grant awards, establishing itself as a substantial recipient of federal funding across multiple agencies and programs. The entity has received multiple Port Security Grant Program (CFDA 97.056) awards from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), totaling over ten million dollars collectively across several project grants awarded in September 2021, September 2022, August 2023, September 2024, and September 2025, with values ranging from $2.3 million to $2.67 million per award. These port security grants support the enhancement of maritime security, critical infrastructure protection, maritime domain awareness, surveillance systems, communications equipment, patrol vessel procurement, cybersecurity upgrades, security training, and personnel hiring. Additionally, the Port of Corpus Christi Authority received a substantial $120.196 million Project Grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under the Clean Ports Program (CFDA 66.051) awarded in January 2025, which funds the deployment of zero-emission equipment and infrastructure including three zero-emission tugboats, two zero-emission locomotives, eight zero-emission forklifts, one zero-emission sweeper, and eight charging stations, along with shore power retrofit hardware, safety equipment procurement, workforce training, and community engagement activities to reduce air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions in disadvantaged fenceline communities. The entity also received a $2.513 million Port Security Grant Program award from FEMA in September 2025 for maritime transportation infrastructure security enhancements. A $5.942 million Maritime Administration Project Grant awarded in March 2022 supports the doubling of capacity at Oil Dock 3 at Avery Point, including dock refurbishment and construction of a second dock with related infrastructure to accommodate barge operations for refined petroleum product exports. Furthermore, the Port of Corpus Christi Authority received a Cooperative Agreement from the Office of Fossil Energy in October 2023 for the Coastal Bend Carbon Management Project: CarbonSafe Phase II, which investigates the feasibility and cost of geological carbon-storage technologies in the coastal region near the port. Sub-grant awards, distributed through the Texas Division of Emergency Management as the prime grantee, have supported port-related projects including Hurricane Harvey recovery efforts, COVID-19 response activities, shoreline erosion management on Harbor Islands, bulkhead and paving improvements, and security infrastructure such as the Viola Security Access Point Generator, with sub-awards ranging from 2021 through November 2024.