CONCORD, Mass. – In response to a request by the state of New Hampshire, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New England District is proposing maintenance and improvement dredging for navigation in Hampton Harbor located in Hampton and Seabrook, New Hampshire.
The Federal project involves maintenance dredging of approximately 2,700 cubic yards of sand from the 8-foot mean lower low water (MLLW) entrance channel, and improvement dredging of about 78,900 cubic yards of sandy material from the inner harbor channels and anchorage areas on both the Seabrook and Hampton sides of the harbor with a hydraulic pipeline dredge.
Proposed improvements in the inner harbor include an 8-foot MLLW anchorage on the Seabrook side, an 8-foot and a shallower 6-foot MLLW anchorage area on the Hampton side, and 8-foot MLLW inner channels connecting both areas with the entrance channel.
As part of the project, the state proposes maintenance dredging of approximately 3,300 cubic yards of sand from a 6-foot MLLW recreational anchorage area situated in the upper portion of the Hampton side of the harbor in an area that will not be part of the Federal project.
The material to be dredged is clean sand that is an important component of the Hampton and Seabrook beach systems. As it is Corps policy to beneficially use dredged material when possible, beach placement is being proposed. Two beach sites, Hampton Beach and Seabrook Beach, are proposed as placement sites for the dredged sand. Placing this sandy material on the beaches adjacent to the project area would nourish the beaches and keep the material within the Hampton Harbor coastal system.
In addition, about 2,600 cubic yards of the dredged sand will be placed behind an existing composite sheet pile wall built in 2005 to protect the middle ground sand flat and adjacent shore.
Hampton Harbor is located in coastal New Hampshire and is situated at the confluence of the Hampton, Brown and Blackwater Rivers.
“Currently, shoaling and inadequate inner harbor channel and anchorage depths are impacting commercial fishing and other boating activities,” said Project Manager Richard Heidebrecht, of the Corps’ New England District, Engineering/Planning Division. “The purpose of this proposed navigation improvement project is to alleviate these conditions by hydraulically dredging the channels and anchorage areas.”
The work would be performed during a five-month period between October 1 and March 15 of the year in which funding becomes available. Dredging of the inner harbor would be performed between October 15 and February 1; dredging in the entrance channel would occur between October 15 and March 15; and work on the receiving beaches would occur between October 1 and March 15. All of these areas have been dredged in the past by either the State or the Federal government.
The proposed work has been coordinated with the following Federal, state and local agencies: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (Region I); National Marine Fisheries Service; New Hampshire Office of State Planning; New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services; New Hampshire Department of Fish & Game; New Hampshire Division of Parks and Recreation; State Historic Preservation Commission; Pease Development Authority, Division of Ports and Harbors; Town of Seabrook; and Town of Hampton. An Environmental Assessment for this work has been prepared and is available for review. The Corps has assessed the effects the dredging is likely to have and has determined that there will be no significant impacts on resources or the environment.
The public notice for this proposed work, with more detailed information, is available for review on the Corps website at http://www.nae.usace.army.mil. Select “projects” and then “Hampton Harbor Navigation Improvement and Maintenance Project” under New Hampshire.
Public comments on this proposed work should be forwarded no later than Oct. 17, 2011 to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New England District, Engineering/Planning Division (ATTN: Mr. Richard Heidebrecht), 696 Virginia Road, Concord, MA 01742-2751.