DMR seeks comments on Blue Hill Harbor dredging

The Maine Department of Marine Resources (DMR) is collecting public comments about the potential impact to the fishing industry of a proposed federal dredging project in the Blue Hill area.

The U. S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) and the Town of Blue Hill have submitted a Navigation Improvement Project for the creation of a federal navigation channel and a Confined Aquatic Disposal (CAD) cell in Blue Hill Harbor.

USACE proposes the construction of an 80-foot wide channel from deep water to the town landing including a half acre turning basin.

The proposed project would dredge a 2,500 foot long Federal Channel and a 38,000 square foot turning basin near the town landing. Both the turning basin and the new channel would be dredged to depth of -6 feet at MLLW.

The dredging of the channel will excavate approximately 71,500 cubic yards of sediment. Most of this material, 61,000 cubic yards, will be disposed offshore at the Eastern Passage Disposal Site (EPDS), 14 miles from the harbor.

Approximately 10,500 cubic yards of the dredged material is unsuitable for open water disposal and will be placed in a newly constructed CAD cell in the harbor immediately adjacent and north of the channel.

The CAD cell construction will excavate approximately 15,500 cubic yards of sediment which will also be disposed of at the EPDS. All dredging will be by mechanical dredge and scow.

Construction will occur between November 1 and April 1 and is expected to take three to four months to complete.

The total dredge estimate is 87,000 cubic yards from approximately 31 acres of dredge area.

The deadline for written comments is January 25, 2021.