A public information meeting on the status of the New Haven Harbor Navigation Improvement Feasibility Study and Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) will take place today in New Haven, Conn.
The meeting, hosted by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ New England District, the Connecticut Port and the New Haven Port Authorities, will provide an opportunity for the Corps and the port authorities to provide a status update on the study and allow the public an opportunity to ask questions and provide comments.
In response to a resolution of the Senate Committee on the Environment and Public Works dated July 31, 2007, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is conducting a feasibility study and Environmental Impact Statement to examine navigation improvements to the existing New Haven Harbor Federal Navigation Project.
The non-Federal sponsor for the study is the New Haven Port Authority in partnership with the Connecticut State Port Authority.
The public information meeting will be held at the Nathan Hale School auditorium, 480 Townsend Avenue in New Haven, Conn. Registration will start at 6 p.m. and the meeting will start at 6:30 p.m., said USACE.
The study
The study is considering navigation improvements, including deepening and widening the federal navigation project.
Inadequate channel depths result in navigation inefficiencies in transporting goods into and out of the harbor. To reach the terminals, larger ships must lighter outside the breakwaters and/or experience delays while waiting for favorable tide conditions, or both.
Deeper and wider navigation features (main channel, maneuvering area, and turning basin) are needed to increase the navigation efficiency and safety of New Haven Harbor.
The feasibility study will identify, evaluate, and recommend to decision-makers an appropriate, coordinated and workable solution to the navigation inefficiencies at New Haven Harbor.
Alternatives will include analyzing various incremental channel depths and widths based upon net economic benefits and design requirements for deeper draft vessels. In addition, the study will evaluate various dredged material disposal alternatives such as beneficial use (e.g., oyster habitat and marsh creation, beach nourishment, historic disposal mound capping, nearshore placement), open water placement, and upland placement.
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