The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New England District is proposing maintenance dredging of the Scarborough River Federal Navigation Project (FNP) in Scarborough, Maine.
The proposed work involves maintenance dredging of the 8-foot-deep Mean Lower Low Water (MLLW) channel and the 6-foot-deep MLLW anchorage area at the Scarborough FNP.
“ Shoaling due to Hurricane Sandy has reduced available depths to as little as 1.3 feet MLLW in the channel and anchorage area, ” said Project Manager Mike Walsh, of the Corps’ New England District, Programs/Project Management Division. “ Shoaling in the entrance channel is making navigation to and from the anchorage hazardous at lower stages of the tide. Additionally, shoaling in the anchorage area has significantly reduced useable mooring space in the harbor .”
Maintenance dredging of about 100,000 cubic yards of sand from approximately 42.2 acres of the authorized project will restore the project to authorized dimensions. Work will be performed by a private contractor under contract to the government. A hydraulic dredge will be used to remove the sand shoals from the FNP and pump the material to Western Beach. The town of Scarborough, the project local sponsor, has requested the dredge material be deposited on the nearby Western Beach, which is experiencing erosion.
The work will be performed during a two- to three-month period between the months of October through March. The most recent maintenance dredging of the channel and anchorage was performed in 2004 when approximately 85,000 cubic yards of material were removed and disposed of on Western Beach.
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 Marine Resources; Maine Department of Inland Fish and Wildlife; Maine State Planning Office; Maine Historic Preservation Office; Maine Geological Survey; and the town of Scarborough harbor master and town manager. An Environmental Assessment for this work has been prepared.
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Press Release, May 21, 2013