CONCORD, Mass. – The Channelside Homeowners Association is seeking a permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New England District to conduct work in waters of the United States in conjunction with installing a fixed landing and dredging of material in Old Saybrook, Conn.
The applicant proposes to install an 8-foot by 12-foot fixed landing with two, 3.5-foot-wide by 24-foot long hinged ramps to either side with associated pilings; 520 linear feet of 8-foot wide floats with associated ramps on either side of the landing, directly landward of the bulkhead; and two, 8-foot by 10-foot fixed access ramps, one at each end of the 520-foot long section, in order to provide recreational boating access for the Channelside neighborhood.
The man-made basin is approximately 110 feet wide at the southwestern end and approximately 140 feet wide at the northeastern end. The structures will encroach approximately 13 feet channelward of the bulkhead.
Some 600 linear feet of new wooden bulkhead sheeting will be installed 18 inches channelward of the existing concrete revetment, with associated support piles and mooring whips for berthing. The area landward of the new bulkhead will be backfilled with approximately 150 cubic yards of clean fill material. The new bulkhead revetment will replace the existing failed concrete tub revetment that is currently eroding into the basin. No tidal wetlands will be impacted as a result of the bulkhead installation.
The proposed work is located in a man-made basin to the south of the Connecticut River at Channelside Drive in Old Saybrook.
Approximately 1,500 cubic yards of silt and mud will be dredged to a depth of –3 feet mean low water, with a clamshell bucket, over a 25,000-square-foot area beneath and adjacent to the proposed dock structures. There will be a 1-foot over-dredge allowance. The dredge material will be transported and disposed of at the Central Long Island Sound open water disposal site. The material has undergone a suitability determination for such open water disposal and the Corps has deemed the material suitable.
The application for the federal permit was filed by the applicant with the Corps of Engineers in compliance with Section 404 of the Clean Water Act, which regulates the discharge or fill of material in United States waters, including wetlands; and with Section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act, which provides for federal regulation of any work in, or affecting navigable waters of the United States.
The public notice can be viewed on the Corps website at http://www.nae.usace.army.mil. Select Regulatory/Permitting and then weekly public notices.
Public comments on this proposal (file #NAE-2006-492) should be forwarded no later than March 7, 2012 to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New England District, Regulatory Division (ATTN: Amy Bourne), 696 Virginia Road, Concord, MA 01742-2751. Additional information is available from Permit Project Manager Amy Bourne at 978-318-8651 or toll free 800-343-4789 or 800-362-4367 (if calling from within Massachusetts) or by email to: amelia.c.bourne@usace.army.mil.