Maine Dredge Team Oct 1 meeting - the Searsport Section audio 6min 47sec plus document and photos

The Maine Dredge Team met today October 1, 2026 at the Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge in Kennebunk. Listen and read about it

Searsport Audio  Presentation and discussion of  the waters around Searsport _6min47sec 

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Photos to come

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Searsport Harbor Maintenance Dredging update Report from ACOE's April 13, 2026 meeting

FROM Maine Dredge Team Meeting Notes April 13, 2026 (Full mtg notes) (pdf)

ACOE followup meeting  June 24th, 2026, 6:00pm to 7:30pm.
Location: Searsport Community Building, 42 Prospect Street, Searsport, Maine 04974.

Purpose Provide an overview of the Preliminary Assessment for the proposed

maintenance dredging of the Searsport Harbor Federal Navigation Project.

Searsport Harbor Maintenance Dredging (Searsport, ME) 

o Description: Mechanical maintenance dredging of approximately 40,000 cy of mixed sand and silt that is not suitable for open water disposal due to elevated mercury levels. The channel is 3,500 ft long and 500 ft wide with a 1,500-ft-wide turning basin in front of the piers at Mack Point. It is authorized to a depth of -35 ft MLLW with 2 ft of overdepth. 

o Disposal: Proposal includes the construction of two confined aquatic disposal (CAD) cells – one starter cell and one primary cell – just west of the FNP. The top 3 ft of sediment in the starter cell location (~ 5,200 cy) would be held in scows during construction. Sediment below the surficial layer (~17,000 cy), which is suitable for open water disposal, would be taken to the Rockland Disposal Site (RDS), approximately 25 nm south of Searsport Harbor. Then the top 3 ft of sediment from the starter cell and primary cell location (~10,200 cy) would be placed into the starter cell. Next, the remaining suitable material in the primary cell footprint (~44,500 cy) would be taken to RDS. Finally, the unsuitable materials from the FNP would be placed in the primary CAD cell.

 Approximately 3 ft will be left at the top of the cell for natural cap.

o History: First constructed in 1962; no maintenance dredging has been conducted 

o Status: Environmental review underway; USACE to hold public information meeting; targeting 2027-28 dredging window 

o Meeting question: What is the water depth at the CAD cell location? Answer: Most recent survey shows a range between 25 – 31 ft deep at MLLW.

o Meeting comment: Full design is not yet completed – whether a starter cell is needed is not finalized; multiple scows or a large scow would be needed if a starter cell isn’t used; keeping this option flexible allows more contractors to bid and can make the project less expensive. 

o Meeting question: How are the sediments in the channel and CAD cell different in terms of suitability?  Answer: the top 3 ft of the CAD cell is also not suitable – it would be held at the site while the deeper, suitable sediment is taken to RDS. 

o Meeting question: How could the presence of CAD cells affect potential wind port development in the area? Answer: Designs have been shared with Sprague and they do not have any issues. 

o Meeting comment: The need for maintenance dredging after over 10 years of planning is a higher priority so ships don’t have to wait on tides. 

o Meeting comment: Pat will provide information on composition of clean material 

 After the meeting, all the documentation for the Searsport project was posted here: https://www.nae.usace.army.mil/Missions/Civil-Works/Navigation/Maine/SearsportHarbor/ Information on the composition of the material can be found in the Draft Preliminary Assessment, Suitability Determinations, CAD Cell Investigation Report, and Engineering Designs 

o Meeting question: Were beneficial uses of the material considered vs. disposal at RDS? 

Answer: Yes, capping contaminated areas in Penobscot Bay was considered but there is uncertainty on whether this would be successful and several years of testing and studies would be required, which would delay the maintenance dredging too long considering vessel draft requirements

END

Maine Dredge Team meeting, August 26, 2024

 On August 26, 2024 The Maine Dredge Team meet to discuss active and upcoming projects and proposals requiring dredging 

Intro of Dredge Team members & public attendees 14minutes

Searsport "Windport" Discussion  9 minutes

More to come

Maine Dredge Team March 7, 2016 meetings Audio mp3s of the interagency meeting

Monday March 7th, the Maine Interagency Dredge Team met in Augusta. 

Listen to audio from the event.

Intro of Dredge team 4min 19sec |

Part 1 21 min |

Part 2 22min |

Part 3. 16min

Participants were there to discuss dredging projects underway and under consideration. This included the Searport Harbor expansion dredge project, as well as other harbors along the Maine coast.
The public was represented by eco-attorney Kim Ervin Tucker of Lincolnville Beach, Becky Bartovics, Maine Sierra Club, North Haven Island, and Ron Huber, Friends of Penobscot Bay, Rockland.   The meeting allowed public participation by speakerphone 

The dredge team included: 
Pete Tischbein, Army Corp Craig Martin, navigation section, ACOE Wendy ____ Army Corp of Engineers planning John Chelley Chief of planning, f Army Corps Mark Habel Corps new eng, navigation Ed O'Donnel chief navigation section and the ONF program Dennis Nault Maine DMR Rob Elder MDOT trade office Maine DEP ____ Green Paul Mercer, commissioner DEP Mark Bergeron on MDEP Maine Geological Survey Maine Port Authority - Dredge committee Patty Aho, Sen Collins office staffer, Sen Collins for York County Pingree staffer Portland Senator Angus King staffer Tom Dobbins Portland harbor commission Jim Katz Saco coastal waters chief Patrick Fox Saco Payne, Normandeau Associates Biddeford harbor commission Wells harbormaster & town manager
Also attending: Maine Lobstering Union members (3) Kim Tucker Lawyer for Maine Lobstering Union David Black, Belfast Zone D lobsterman

ABOUT THE MEETING

The meeting was frustrating for critics of the Searport harbor dredge plan (aerial photo) . Dredging officials told Tucker at first that they had absolutely no new information about when the withdrawn Searsport harbor expansion dredge project might be reactivated. She managed to pull a few things out of them, like the identity of the till-now army corps officials in DC are who will decide when the Sarsport : Tab Brown, Army Corp Chief of Policy Regarding the Big Gas plan, the Corp's <Edward.G.O'Donnell@nae02.usace.army.mil>, told Huber that they have not received any communications at all about natural gas pipelines coming down from Massachusetts to the Penobscot Bay coast (with all the stream & river crossings required by such pipelines etc, the Corp will be involved. Huber also brought up the failing condition of the surface of the Rockland Breakwater, which has reduced pedestrian travel to the Rockland Breakwater Lighthouse. He said that the Rockland Harbor Commission was concerned that if they complained, the Corps might shut off pedestrian access entirely. Corp official Ed O'Donnell asked Huber to forward him some details.

The meeting was frustrating for opponents of the Army Corps of Engineers massive dredge plan for Searsport harbor:  It seemed that  try as they might, it was near impossible to get details from the army corps staff there on when the "withdrawn" application would become active again.   Federal officials claimed to have no information! Check out this exchange between Kim Ervin Tucker and an Army Corps official 

Q: What is the time frame you're talking about resurrecting this during the course of 2016?
A. We don't know.
Q: Who in DC specifically are you working with, what office?
A. Planning and Policy.
Q: A specific person there involved in that ?
A. Not a specific person, but  Tab Brown is the chief of that.
Q: Was there anything in particular you all are looking at?  Pockmarks? What specifically is now being re-evaluated for that project?
A.We don't know yet
Q: When will you know?
A: laughs
Q: Before the next team meeting? Will there be some activity taken before the next dredge team meeting?
AThe corps and DOT have to do a lot of talking, before the half stretch.
Q Thank you. 

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 To get notified about  future  Maine  dredge meetings  write to  Todd Burrowes  at the Maine coastal program <Todd.Burrowes@maine.gov and ask him to put you on the list.   Burrowes is the Maine Coastal Program's "Federal Consistency Coordinator", meaning he's the contact when fed permit-requiring projects - including dredging but also  shoreline development like  riprapping  & piers-  come up. Coastal program phone: (207) 287-3200.