Port of Hueneme Dredging Kicks Off

Today, Congresswoman Julia Brownley and local officials celebrated the beginning of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers dredging of Channel Islands Harbor, which will provide sand to replenish Hueneme Beach.

“Since coming to Congress, I have worked tirelessly to advocate for the funding necessary to dredge Channel Islands Harbor, which provides desperately needed sand to Hueneme Beach. This was a team effort, as Supervisor Kathy Long, Supervisor John Zaragoza, Channel Islands Harbor director Lyn Krieger, and local elected officials from the City of Port Hueneme advocated tirelessly – side-by-side with me – to make this dredge possible,” said Brownley.

While we can and should celebrate this victory for our community, we must also remain vigilant to ensure future dredging occurs on-time and is sufficient to keep Channel Island Harbor navigable and provide adequate sand for our beaches,” added Brownley.

“I am proud of the County’s collaboration and partnership with the Army Corps of Engineers and the effective advocacy of our Congressional Representative Julia Brownley that ensured the largest historical dredge of our Channel Islands Harbor Sand Trap. The efforts of all who invested their time and energy into making this a reality will celebrate as each grain of sand is transported to their rightful place,” said Ventura County Supervisor Kathy Long.

“I am pleased to see that the dredging project is beginning. The City of Port Hueneme has suffered greatly with the erosion at Hueneme Beach. The sand trap at the Channel Island Harbor is almost to capacity. Moving the sand will be beneficial to all concerned and will improve safety and restore the beautiful scenery we enjoy,” said Ventura County Supervisor John Zaragoza.

I would like to thank Congresswoman Julia Brownley, County Supervisor Kathy Long, and County Harbor Director Lyn Krieger for their hard work and diligence in obtaining the critically needed funds to dredge, and the many different agencies and departments who were involved and lastly our local State friends: the National Park Service and the Coast Guard. We thank you for the partnership and the good work,” added Zaragoza.

“We are very happy to have this massive dredging project underway, both to clear the entrance to Channel Islands Harbor, and to provide much-needed sand to Hueneme Beach and points south. I am so grateful to Congresswoman Brownley for all of her efforts on behalf of the Harbor and the City of Port Hueneme. This is the largest dredging project in the history of the Harbor, and badly needed. Without her work, I am not sure this would have happened,” said Lyn Krieger, Director of the Ventura County Harbor Department.

The Channel Islands Harbor project is the largest dredging project ever conducted at the Harbor. During the project around 2.25 million cubic yards of sand will be moved to Hueneme Beach.

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October 15, 2014