June 15, 2018
Washington, D.C.—U.S. Senators Susan Collins and Angus King announced today that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers released its fiscal year 2018 work plan, which includes important dredging and maintenance projects in Maine totaling $11,780,000. The budget for the Army Corps of Engineers is overseen by the Senate Energy and Water Development Appropriations Subcommittee, of which Senator Collins is a senior member.
“We are pleased that the Army Corps of Engineers has advanced these critical dredging projects for Maine harbors and rivers, which will help address significant safety and navigational concerns for commercial fishermen as well as recreational boaters,” said Senators Collins and King in a joint statement. “Maine’s waterways are the lifeblood of many coastal regions and support our state’s economy. We will continue to work with the Corps and local communities to address Maine’s other important maintenance needs.”
The Maine projects that have received funding under the Corps’ work plan are as follows:
Funds are being used to award a fully funded base bid contract with options to perform maintenance dredging of about 140,000 cubic yards of material from the 8-foot channel and anchorage with in-river placement and beach renourishment.
Funds are being used to award a fully funded contract to perform maintenance dredging of about 42,000 cubic yards of material from the 10-foot channel and 8-foot anchorages with placement at the Cape Arundel Disposal Site.
Funds will be used for maintenance dredging.
Funds are being used to perform maintenance dredging of the 8-foot entrance channel using the government dredge CURRITUCK. About 5,000 cubic yards of sandy material would be removed and placed at a near shore site off Wells Beach.
Funds are being used to perform annual disposal site monitoring; including condition surveys, sediment sampling and testing, repositioning of disposal site buoys and preparation of several monitoring study reports
Funds are being used for performing hydrographic and topographic project condition surveys (PCS) for federally authorized navigation projects, including navigation channels, inlets, anchorages, structures such as jetties and breakwaters, and other navigation features within the states. Funds are also used to respond to unanticipated needs, including concerns raised by the U.S. Coast Guard, local harbor masters, or other agencies regarding projects that have become shoaled as a result of severe storms and/or abnormal deposition rates that may have compromised safe navigation.
Funds are being used to inspect federally constructed and locally maintained flood risk management projects with an emphasis on approximately 11,750 of federally authorized and locally maintained levee systems. Funds are also used to review updates to project operation and maintenance manuals.
Funds are being used for monitoring of lake levels and outflows; monitoring and approving international apportionment of water; forecasting lake levels and river flows during periods of high or low water collecting, analyzing, and maintaining hydrometeorlogic data, including post-flood reports; monitoring flood operations; assisting in transboundary dispute resolution; and preparing and disseminating information to the public.
Funds are being used to conduct pre-inspection preparation, post-inspection reporting, transmit notification requirements to the sponsor, and add completed inspection reports to the National Ecosystem Restoration Project Database. The program covers all 50 states and territories of the U.S.
