CONCORD, Mass. – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New England District plans to perform maintenance dredging of the Cape Porpoise Harbor Federal navigation project in Kennebunkport, Maine. The town of Kennebunkport is the local sponsor and requested this work.
“Natural shoaling processes have reduced available depths to as little as 1.0 foot in the 15-foot MLLW channel and anchorage, and 2.0 feet in the 6-foot MLLW channel, making navigation hazardous or impossible at lower stages of the tide,” said Project Manager Ms. Coral Siligato, of the Corps’ New England District, Programs/Project Management Division in Concord, Mass. “Maintenance dredging of approximately 25,000 cubic yards of primarily fine- and medium-grain sand, and silt from approximately 12 acres of the authorized project area will maintain the FNP to required authorized dimensions of the 6-foot MLLW channel and will maintain safe navigation to 10 feet MLLW in the 15-foot MLLW channel and anchorage.”
A private contractor, under contract to the government, will use a mechanical dredge and scows to remove the material and then transport it for placement at the Cape Arundel Disposal Site or the Portland Disposal Site. Construction is expected to take between 1-3 months within the allowable dredge window of Nov. 1 to March 15. The work is anticipated to be performed in 2019/2020.
The Corps’ most recent dredging of the harbor was in 1976 when a mechanical dredge removed approximately 123,000 cubic yards of sediment from the 15-foot channel, 15-foot anchorage, and 6-foot channel, and placed the material at the Cape Arundel Disposal Site.
The proposed work is being coordinated with: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; National Marine Fisheries Service; Maine Department of Environmental Protection; Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation, and Forestry; Maine Coastal Program; Maine Department of Marine Resources; Maine Historic Preservation Office; the Penobscot Nation; and the town of Kennebunkport. An environmental assessment is being prepared and will be available for review upon request.
The public notice, with more detailed information, is available for review on the Corps website at http://www.nae.usace.army.mil/Missions/Navigation/Public-Notices/.
Public comments on this proposed dredging project should be forwarded no later than Nov. 20, 2018 to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New England District, Programs/Project Management Division (ATTN: Ms. Coral Siligato), 696 Virginia Road, Concord, MA 01742-2751 or by email to nae-pn-nav@usace.army.mil.