Army Corps to repeat pre-application requirement closer to site

Searsport dredging subject of public meeting in Belfast

Mon, 04/07/2014 - 12:15pm

A map of the area around Mack Point cargo terminal in Searsport shows the proposed dredging area in blue. The boundaries of the current channel are marked with a thin red line. The extended length at the south end of the channel is to accommodate dredging the 35-foot deep channel to a depth of 40 feet.

Story Location:
80 Belmont Avenue

Belfast, ME 04915
United States

BELFAST - A proposal by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Maine Department of Transportation to deepen and extend the shipping channel at Mack Point cargo terminal in Searsport will be subject of a public meeting, Tuesday, April 8, at the University of Maine Hutchinson Center from 12:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.

The project, as proposed, would deepen the 35-foot-deep channel to 40 feet to better accommodate the drafts of modern cargo vessels and allow greater maneuverability, according to USACE and supporters of the project.

Opponents have raised concerns about the roughly 900,000 tons of material that would be removed, and the effect it would have on the marine ecosystem and lobster fishery.

Tuesday’s meeting will be a repeat of the Water Quality Certification Pre-application public informational meeting held in Bangor in February.

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