Pursuant to 38 M.R.S. 480-D, sub-9, the Maine Department of Marine Resources (DMR) is required to provide the Maine Department of Environmental Protection with an assessment on the impacts on the fishing industry of a proposed dredging operation. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New England District is proposing to dredge an area of approximately 22 acres from shoaled areas in the 8-foot entrance and 6-foot main channels and the 6-foot anchorage of the Scarborough River Federal Navigation Project. This is expected to produce a volume of approximately 130,000 cubic yards (cy) of predominantly sandy material. The project is expected to occur in two phases. The first phase is an immediate priority for safe navigation in the 8-foot entrance channel. The first phase area will be removed by a government-owned hopper dredge between April 1, 2022 and May 31, 2022 (approximately 30,000 cy). The second phase of the dredge project would remove the remaining material (approximately 100,000 cy) by a hydraulic cutterhead over a one-to-three-month time-frame, between November 1 and March 15 of the year(s) in which funds become available. This material will be pumped onto Western Beach, Scarborough.
DMR will accept written comments about the potential impacts of the proposed dredging operation on fishing in the area to be dredged and impacts to the fishing industry of the proposed transport route of the dredge spoils to the Little River near shore placement area. Comments should be sent to DMR at the email or mailing address listed below by 5:00 p.m. April 1, 2022.