CONCORD, Mass. – The town of Provincetown 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 construction and dredging in Provincetown Harbor at 260 Main Street in Provincetown, Mass.
Proposed work involves a 600-foot long wave attenuator positioned to the northeast of the marina and a 200-foot long attenuator positioned on the southwest side of the marina immediately adjacent to MacMillan Pier. Each attenuator will be comprised of modular heavy duty concrete floats approximately 14 feet wide connected lengthwise to form a continuous flexible barrier and each unit weighs approximately 90,000 pounds. The connections between units are high strength and flexible to provide a continuous attenuator capable of accommodating the anticipated wave conditions.
The attenuators will float through all stages of the tide and have a draft of 4 feet and a freeboard of 2 feet. The attenuators will be moored in position using steel pipe piles spaced at approximately 30 feet on center. The mooring piles will be designed to survive 100 year storm conditions and will be 36 inch diameter steel pipe. The proposed North attenuator also will provide transient berthing for approximately six larger fishing vessels.
The marina float layout matches the current berthing arrangement with the following modifications: 1) the North Dock main float is extended in length from 271 feet long to 358 feet long. This will allow a connection to the north attenuator which will then be used for additional transient berthing. The extended North Dock will have 3 additional 5-foot by 30-foot finger floats in order to provide an additional four slips for smaller vessels. In addition, four, 5-foot by 30-foot dinghy dock finger floats are proposed in order to create docking space; 2) the South Dock main float remains in the same footprint out shore but the length will be reduced from 281 feet overall to 275 feet. This is to accommodate the south attenuator alongside the MacMillan Wharf.
The existing marina currently provides designated slips for up to 39 commercial vessels. The revised marina layout will provide designated slips for up to 44 boats and transient berthing for up to 6 larger commercial fishing vessels. Marina construction will consist of concrete main floats with timber finger floats. The concrete main floats will be 10 feet wide with a 2-foot freeboard and 2-foot draft. All utilities will be similar to the existing ones and will be located on the concrete main floats. Timber finger floats will allow for seasonal removal of the fingers from portions of the marina in order to reduce maintenance requirements during winter storms but some portions of the marina will remain in use year round.
The town is proposing to conduct maintenance dredging in the Fairway area of approximately 3,754 cubic yards of sand from a 39,605 square foot area to a depth of -6 feet below mean low water (MLW) inshore to -10 feet MLW outshore. The town also is seeking authorization to perform repeat maintenance dredging of up to 500 cubic yards of this area on an as-needed basis due to historic shoaling rates.
In the marina basin, the town is proposing deepening of the areas below the floating attenuators (improvement dredging) to ensure sufficient depth at all times to prevent grounding. The town is proposing to conduct maintenance dredging in the marina basin of approximately 3,350 cubic yards of sand from a 30,870 square foot area to a depth of -9 feet below mean low water (MLW). Of this 30,870 square feet, 17,770 square feet is within the marina maintenance dredging footprint and 13,100 square feet is footprint expansion.
All of the dredge material will be disposed of at an approved upland site. The town is proposing to use the “T” at the end of MacMillan Wharf for multi-purposes such as adaptable public space for a variety of community uses and events. Its current permitted use is to provide safe access for commercial fishing, whale watch and excursion vessel boarding and offloading of passengers, pedestrian walking and the harbormaster’s office.
Additionally, there are unauthorized structures on the wharf that are proposed to be retained, under this permit request. The entire project of both structures and dredging will impact approximately 97,905 square feet of Essential Fish Habitat (EFH) for various species and life stages. Habitat at this site can be described as a fine sand. Loss of this habitat may adversely affect these species. 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 public notice, with more specifics on the work proposed by the town of Provincetown, can be viewed on the Corps website at www.nae.usace.army.mil/Missions/Regulatory/PublicNotices.aspx. 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.
Public comments on this work proposed by the town of Provincetown (file # NAE-1998-02651) should be forwarded no later than Sept. 9, 2016 to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New England District, Regulatory Division (ATTN: Crystal Gardner), 696 Virginia Road, Concord, MA 01742-2751. Additional information is available from Permit Project Manager Crystal Gardner at 978-318-8332 or toll free 800-343-4789 or 800-362-4367 (if calling from within Massachusetts) or by email to: crystal.i.gardner@usace.army.mil.