CONCORD, Mass. – The Town of Truro is seeking a permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New England District to conduct work in waters of the U.S. in conjunction with dredging and placing sand on the town beach in Truro, Mass. This work is proposed in the Pamet River located at 0 Pamet Harbor in Truro.
The proposed work involves the maintenance dredging of the Pamet River Channel and the Pamet Harbor Basin over 10 years with the sandy dredged material used as beneficial beach nourishment on the Town Beach at the mouth of the Channel. Dredging will be completed by hydraulic and mechanical means.
The channel dredging will include the removal of approximately 20,000 cubic yards of material from an area of no more than 298,250 square feet. The channel will be dredged to a depth of -4 feet mean low water (MLW). The Town proposes to place this sandy material on a 33,380 square foot area of the Town Beach to the north of the channel. The Basin dredging will be limited to an approximately 125,000 square foot area. The Town proposes to dredge approximately 500 cubic yards annually in order to maintain the Basin at a depth of -6 MLW. Approximately 5,000 cubic yards of material will be dredged over the next 10 years. This dredged material also will be placed on the Town Beach.
This area represents the extent of the dredging envelope within which dredging will be conducted. Within the proposed dredging envelope, different areas may be dredged annually to the target navigation depth. This project represents maintenance dredging. The last time this channel was dredged was in 2014.
The dredging portion of this project will impact approximately 9.72 acres of Essential Fish Habitat (EFH). Habitat at this site can be described as sand. Loss of this habitat may adversely affect species that use these waters and substrate. However, the Corps has made a preliminary determination that the site-specific adverse effect will not be substantial. Further consultation with the National Marine Fisheries Service regarding EFH conservation recommendations is being conducted and will be concluded prior to the final permit decision.
The application for the federal permit was filed with the Corps in compliance with Section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act, which provides for federal regulation of any work in, or affecting navigable waters of the U.S.; and Section 404 of the Clean Water Act, which regulates the discharge or fill of material in U.S. waters, including wetlands. The public notice, with more specifics on the work proposed by the Town of Truro, can be viewed on the Corps website at www.nae.usace.army.mil/Missions/Regulatory/PublicNotices.aspx.
Public comments on this work proposed by the Town of Truro (file # NAE-2011-01105) should be forwarded no later than July 12, 2018 to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New England District, Regulatory Division (ATTN: Joshua Helms), 696 Virginia Road, Concord, MA 01742-2751. Additional information is available from Permit Project Manager Joshua Helms at 978-318-8211 or toll free 800-343-4789 or 800-362-4367 (if calling from within Massachusetts) or by email to: joshua.m.helms@usace.army.mil.