Hampton Harbor in Need of Dredging, Funds Available Next Year

Lt. Gen. Todd Semonite, Chief of Engineers and Commanding General of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), has announced that funding for the Hampton Harbor dredging project could come in 2019.

According to Semonite, approximately $275,000 for designs for the harbor’s dredging could be secured this year, seacoastonline.com reports.

Around $4 million needed for the harbor’s dredging could then be placed into the USACE’s 2019 work plan, he said in a hearing before a subcommittee of the Senate Committee on Appropriations last week.

R.D. James, assistant secretary at the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army, added that the smaller harbors find difficulty in acquiring funding because they often do not meet certain requirements like a tonnage minimum for transported goods.

“It’s tough to reach into the budget to get the funding because of the requirements in the budget,” James said.

According to the harbor business owners and fishermen, shoaling has caused sand to pile high enough to prevent boats from exiting and entering the harbor at low tides.

The harbor was last dredged in 2013.

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