The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is set to get a $47 million boost in federal money that could help increase the amount of dredged sediment from the Mobile Bay shipping channel used for projects beneficial to the coast, the Alabama Port Authority announced Tuesday.

U.S. Sen. Katie Britt, R-Ala., helped advance three items through a Senate committee related to the Mobile Ship Channel’s dredged material, which the Corps is in the process of deepening to 50 feet. In addition to the $47 million for operation and maintenance of the Mobile Ship Channel, Britt also requested $400,000 for a study to analyze sediment flow, the Port said, and added language to this year’s Water Resources Development Act to ensure dredged material from the deepening project is used for “beneficial use.”