Posted on April 22, 2021
NEW HAVEN — A project to deepen and widen the navigation channel in New Haven Harbor — which got a push when the State Bond Commission approved $5 million for study and design — is an important component to broaden the harbor’s use and maintain or improve its market position, officials said.
The Port of New Haven “is about a Top 50 port right now, but our ranking is mainly for petroleum products,” said Michael Piscitelli, the city’s economic development administrator.
Improving the channel could help expand the market for the terminals located within the harbor, he said.
“It’s very important that that channel maintains significant depth in order to remain competitive,” Piscitelli said. “By deepening the channel we’ll be able to maintain the market position of New Haven Harbor.”
New Haven Harbor is a key location where petroleum products are brought in for Connecticut and New England. It is the second-largest port in New England behind Boston Harbor.
The plan also will reduce the number of trucks on Connecticut highways and create an oyster-friendly habitat near the east breakwater, a rock reef habitat north of the west breakwater and a 58-acre salt marsh at Sandy Point in West Haven, they said.
Upgrades to New Haven Harbor also will increase navigation efficiency and safety, officials have said.
The city’s state legislators welcomed the award.
“Too often the economic significance of our harbors is not sufficiently prioritized,” said state Senate President Pro Tempore Martin M. Looney, D-New Haven, in a statement.
“This state bonding will go a long way to ensure that New Haven Harbor remains a hub for economic activity on the eastern seaboard for years to come,” he said.
“Many thanks to Governor Lamont for approving this funding leading to the deepening of New Haven Harbor’s navigational channel, ultimately allowing larger ships to comfortably use the harbor,” Looney said.
State Rep. Alphonse Paolillo, D-New Haven, said, “This is great news for the city of New Haven, the harbor, and the State of Connecticut.”
“New Haven Harbor is an asset and economic engine for the entire region that supports the freight and maritime industries, economic development and jobs creation,” the lawmaker said.
“I want to thank the governor, Bond Commission members and all those who recognize the importance of dredging the harbor to maintain its regional impact,” Paolillo said.
The completed project will be a boost to terminal operators and local businesses, and will support a larger workforce to meet the increase in commerce, according to Looney and Paolillo.
The plan calls to deepen the main federal shipping channel by five feet and widen the waterway basin to allow for larger, deep-draft vessels to maneuver in and out of the port to use the harbor’s terminals.
According to the US Army Corps of Engineers the “proposed New Haven Harbor Navigation Improvement Project includes dredging about 4.28 Million cubic yards of ordinary improvement material (i.e., silt and sand) and removing 43,500 (cubic yards) of rock to deepen the channel, turning basin and maneuvering area.”
10-AppendixHFinalEFHAssessment by Helen Bennett
The salt marsh creation project “will result in the replacement of subtidal habitat and intertidal mudflat habitat with a combination of high marsh, low marsh, and tidal creek (i.e., open water and mudflat) habitat, also according to the corps.
While the dredging and placement of dredged material “at various beneficial use sites are not anticipated to have significant effects or long-term lasting effects on the ‘spawning, breeding, feeding, or growth to maturity’ of the majority of managed species that have (essential fish habitat) within the project area, the proposed activities “will have immediate, short-term, direct and indirect impacts on EFH for some of the designated fish species and life history stages that occur in the immediate project area and vicinity,” according to the corps.
01 Final Nhh Ifr Eis February2020signed by Helen Bennett on Scribd
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers expects to begin dredging in October 2023 after the project’s design is complete.
mark.zaretsky@hearstmediact.com
