Town, Corps Agreement Signed, Will Bolster Stage Harbor Dredging

by Tim Wood

            CHATHAM --- It isn’t every day that a local community offers to give the federal government money.

            Perhaps because of the rarity of the occurrence, the town had to work through a significant amount of red tape before finally getting approval from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to contribute funds to the upcoming Stage Harbor entrance channel dredging project.

            However, last Thursday, the memorandum of agreement authorizing the contribution finally came through.  After getting the green light Thursday, the Corps’ New England Division project manager hand-carried the agreement to Chatham Friday, got Town Manager William Hinchey’s signature on the dotted line, and returned to district headquarters in Concord to be finalized.

            “Everything looks very, very good” for expanding the Stage Harbor project, said Coastal Resources Director Ted Keon. 

            It’s been eight years since the Corps dredged the federally maintained Stage Harbor entrance channel.  Initially, the Army Corps dredge Currituck was due in town for its annual dredging of the Aunt Lydia’s Cove channel, and was not scheduled to also work in the Stage Harbor channel.  However, Corps officials got the go-ahead to reprogram $150,000 from other dredge projects, clearing the way for the Currituck to clear shoaling there.

            And none too soon, say officials.  The Stage Harbor channel has a design depth of 10 feet at low water, but currently there is only about three feet of depth at low tide.  Many vessels ran aground last summer, and officials were worried that this year would be worse, and that the shoaling could even prove a safety hazard.

            “If we miss this opportunity, it would be a very bad year,” Keon said.

            The town has a $300,000 state Seaport Grant which was initially envisioned as covering the entire cost of the Stage Harbor dredging.  After subtracting money devoted to renewing permits for the project, the town planned to spend about $200,000 on dredging, either by the Corps or the Barnstable County dredge.  Exactly how much above the $150,000 will be required isn’t certain yet, Keon said.  A survey is being done to determine how much additional dredging is necessary to clear the channel completely.  He anticipates about $50,000 to $75,000 in additional dredging will be necessary above the Corps funds.

            Keon said Congressman William Delahunt’s office helped facilitate the agreement, which required approval from both House and Senate committees.

            “The process was significantly involved,” Keon said, “for what seemed to be a win-win situation.”

            While Aunt Lydia’s Cove is the “bread and butter” of the town’s commercial fishing fleet, Keon said Stage Harbor is the town’s dominant deep-water harbor, and its continued viability is important for both commercial recreational boat traffic.

            The Currituck, which is just finishing up a job in Shark River, N.J., is scheduled to arrive in town and begin working in Stage Harbor this Saturday, June 21.  A large volume dredge, the Currituck can move a lot of sand in a short time, Keon said, so it should be able to do all of the planned work in Stage Harbor, as well as the additional dredging, in the time it has allotted to be in Chatham.  Most of that time will be spent in Stage Harbor, since the Aunt Lydia’s Cove channel appears to have less shoaling than in the past.

6/19/08