USA: Corps, Maine DOT to Organise Meeting on Searsport Dredging

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New England District, and the Maine Department of Transportation will hold a Water Quality Certification pre-application public information meeting as required by the Maine Department of Environmental Protection on Feb. 24, 2014 in Bangor on the proposal for maintenance and improvement dredging of the Searsport Harbor Federal Navigation Project in Searsport, Maine.

The Maine DOT is the non-Federal sponsor for the USACE Feasibility study. The purpose of meeting is to inform the public of the project proposal and its anticipated environmental impacts and to inform the public on opportunities for public comment to the Maine Department of Environmental Protection.

The meeting will be held on Monday, Feb. 24, 2014 at the Cross Insurance Center at 515 Main Street in Bangor, Maine. Doors will open at 5:30 p.m. and the meeting will be held from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.

In response to a resolution of Congress dated July 26, 2000, the USACE New England District in partnership with the Maine Department of Transportation, Maine Port Authority, has undertaken a Feasibility study of navigation improvements to the existing Federal Navigation Project at Searsport Harbor (Mack Point) in Searsport, Maine.

The selected project would deepen the existing entrance channel and turning basin from a depth of -35 feet to -40 feet at mean lower low water. In addition, the entrance channel, currently 500 feet wide at its narrowest point, would be widened to 650 feet, and a maneuvering area adjacent to State Pier’s east berth in Long Cove would be created.

Dredged material will be disposed at the identified disposal site in Penobscot Bay. With the proposed project, deep draft vessels will be able to access the port more efficiently, and transportation costs for goods arriving at the port will be reduced.

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Press Release, February 17, 2014