SHARE

Klee: Deep Supports Army Corps Dredging Plans For Long Island Sound

STAMFORD, Conn. -- The Commissioner of Connecticut’s Department of Energy and Environmental Protection says his agency supports recommendations for the management of dredged materials that have been proposed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

DEEP is said to support the dredging plan proposed by the Army Corps.

DEEP is said to support the dredging plan proposed by the Army Corps.

Photo Credit: File

“The Draft Dredged Material Management Plan (DMMP) released by the Army Corps identifies a range of environmentally sound alternatives for the handling of materials created by dredging projects - including beneficial uses such as beach nourishment and marsh restoration, as well as continued use of open water sites in Long Island Sound,” said DEEP Commissioner Rob Klee. “Our ability to conduct dredging in coastal waterways is critical to sustaining Connecticut’s water-dependent economy and the practical, cost-effective, and environmentally acceptable management alternatives offered by the Army Corps will help meet the needs of our ports and harbors.”

On Monday, the Army Corps released the DMMP and a related Draft Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement for Long Island Sound. The dredging plan was prepared in consultation with the Environmental Protection Agency, Connecticut’s DEEP, and the New York Department of State and New York Department of Environmental Conservation.

The Army Corps will be conducting hearings on the DMMP and PEIS on Aug. 26 at UConn-Stamford and on Aug. 27 at the Holiday Inn in New London.

Written comments may be submitted until Oct. 5. The DMMP examines the need for dredging, the history of dredging and dredged material placement, and current beneficial use practices, such as beach nourishment, as well as placement at the four open water disposal sites currently operated by the Army Corps.

These sites are: Western Long Island Sound site near Stamford; Central Long Island Sound site near New Haven; Cornfield Shoals site near Old Saybrook; and the New London Disposal Site near New London.

Klee said that maintenance of channels, ports and harbors is vital to safe and efficient use of the region’s waterways and that maritime-related commerce is a major economic driver for the Long Island Sound region and the State of Connecticut.

“Maintenance dredging supports the movement of goods through our state’s deep water ports, ferry operations, recreational boating, maritime industries such as Electric Boat in Groton, and critical national security facilities such as the Naval Submarine Base in New London,” Commissioner Klee said.

to follow Daily Voice Stamford and receive free news updates.

SCROLL TO NEXT ARTICLE