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Apr 9, 2025

Maine Dredge Team meeting outline notes and presentation April 7, 2025

 Maine Dredge Team Meeting  April 2025 agenda/outline

April 7, 2025

(See Army Corps of Engineers  April 2025 presentation (pdf)   (Searsport Harbor  is on page 12)

·        Projects completed 2024-2025

o   Isles of Shoals breakwater repairs – New Hampshire/Maine

§  Repair damage to 3 breakwaters

§  Construction began in June 2023, wrapped in November 2024

§  11,000 tons of new armor stone

§  Final cost around $10 million

o   Kennebec River (USN support-maintenance dredging)

§  Hoping to dredge every 2 years

§  40-60k cy material by hopper dredge; disposal at alternative Jack Knife Ledge Disposal Area

§  Completed in January 2025

§  No take of endangered species occurred

§  USN will be looking to expand the dredging footprint for the 2028 dredge adjacent to Bath Iron Works – still within the navigation channel

·        Sand suitable for placement in-river

·        Carlton Bridge to Doubling Point

·        USN coordinating NEPA and state reviews

o   May need additional consultation and/or permit updates to account for changes in footprint, increased dredging frequency, and use of alternate disposal area

o   Josias River, Ogunquit maintenance dredging

§  Mechanically dredged 10,300 cy of material; disposal at Isles of Shoals North Disposal Site

§  Completed in March

§  Had to leave some areas untouched due to presence of hard material (ledge)

§  Final survey on ehydro website

§  Last dredged 1994

·        Scheduled for award in 2025

o   Narraguagus River Maintenance Dredging

§  2024 contract solicitation cancelled – only one bidder, over budget

§  Re-advertised March 17, 2025 hoping to open bid April 17, 2025

§  Looking to do full FMP 150k cy of material; disposal at Douglas Isle Disposal Site

o   Bar Harbor breakwater repairs

§  2 repair areas between Bald Porcupine Island and Porcupine Dry Ledge and beyond Dry Ledge

§  WQC/CZM submitted for review in March

§  Goal to advertise contract in September 2025

§  Historical munitions testing in the area – USACE Baltimore District conducted a determination for probability of UXOs and found there would be low probability

o   Section 111 Shore Damage Mitigation Project – Camp Ellis, Saco

§  Phase I – 750 linear foot stone spur jetty and beach fill (~73k CY)

§  Phase 2 – sand nourishment

§  Authorizations under RHA CAP Section 111 at $12.5 million, WRDA 2007 to $27 million, WRDA 2022 to $45 million

§  WQC/CZM app for Phase I to be submitted spring 2025

§  Potential to use sand from Scarborough Beach depending on timing of projects – dredging not to impede navigability; looked for offshore borrow sources; potentially trucking material from upland quarry

 

 ·        Scheduled for 2026+

o   Isle au Haut Thoroughfare

§  In early planning phase

§  Mechanical dredging ~  2,400 cy – mostly sand, gravel, cobble – suitable for open water disposal; Flake Island disposal site under consideration

§  Current cost estimate ~$3M

§  Working with fishermen to ensure material is placed beneficially for habitat and fishing grounds

§  WQC and CZM applications anticipa
ted in summer 2025

§  2026 construction

o   Searsport Harbor maintenance dredging

§  Mechanical dredging of ~30k cy of material; not suitable for open water – potential to go in CAD cell – 2 sites under investigation; preferred CAD site outside channel near Mack Point

·        Legacy contamination with mercury from Holtrachem detected

§  WQC and CZM applications anticipated in summer 2025

o   Union River Maintenance Dredging           

§  Dredged in 2006-07 – encountered very fine wood pulp coming from upstream mills; material had been disposed at Tupper Ledge

·        Wood pulp does not want to stay in one place

§  Looking to re-align channel entrance – limits the amount of future material to be dredged; anchorage still needs to be dredged – material not suitable for aquatic disposal; identifying potential upland sites

§  USACE conducting due diligence; coordinating with USCG

§  Looking to reach decision point for path forward spring 2025

§  **Question for the group: has anyone seen successful aquatic disposal of wood pulp?

o   Georges River

§  Working to identify potential beneficial use placement sites, open water placement sites

§  ~24-25k cy material to go to 10 feet; town wants to go to 16 feet – increases dredge material to ~80k cy

§  Undertaking draft EA – late summer/early fall for public review and WQC/CZM for project to be conducted fall 2026 (assuming funding from congress)

§  Has gone through suitability determination to 10 feet – mostly silty with some fine grain sands; needs analysis to 16 feet – scheduled for this sampling season

·        Identified potential need in marshes close to Georges River – not sure how to get the material there

·        Any upland beneficial use needs to consider DEP criteria which may be slightly different from USACE


·     Marine Construction Industry Day on May 5 virtual event from 9am-12pm

o   Share with marine construction industry

o   Email nae-pn-nav@usace.army.mil to register and use the subject line “Marine Industry Day”

Portland CAD cell project

·        First CAD cell in the state of Maine – constructed January-March 2025

·        4 acre hole

·        Material from 3 projects dredged this season placed in the CAD cell – Maine State Pier, Ocean Gateway, Turner’s Island (interim cap)

·        ~40 total projects in Portland Harbor to use cell

·        Monitoring to determine if there should be changes to CAD cell management plan


enEnd




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