Posted on November 19, 2018
The conservation commission decided Wednesday it will amend its dredging and disposal program at multiple locations including the Morris Island Cut, Mill Creek Channel, North Harbor Inlet and the Bassing Harbor Inlet at Pleasant Bay.
The commission approved the amendments after Coastal Resources Director Ted Keon came before it to request changes. Keon said that Shellfish Constable Renee Gagne had reviewed the request and is also on board. He added that the town will pursue approvals at the state and federal level.
With constant shifting sands and channels, Keon made the request in what he said will make dredging at these locations much more efficient.
At Mill Creek Inlet, the channel depth of dredging will be modified from three feet to five feet. “We feel trying to maintain three feet is not effective,” he told the commission. He said the channel is already deepening to five feet as is, so it only makes sense to update the permitting.
The North Harbor Inlet channel is an area the town received an emergency permit for over the summer even after some backlash from homeowners at Minister’s Point. But the work was postponed due to delays with the county dredge and dangerous weather conditions. Keon requested that area now be a part of the town’s comprehensive dredging program. He noted that Chatham received a state Coastal Zone Management (CZM) grant ($182,000) in August to help study inlet and channel dynamics – that will specifically help in that area.
?[That grant] will help us understand where we want to put channels in the future,” he said.
The modification at the Bassing Harbor Inlet of Pleasant Bay will widen the zone, or defined channel dimension, to enable flexibility for a greater buffer to eelgrass beds, according to Keon. A channel in that area has already been created through dredging but some new sand has moved in and the town is looking to shave that off to keep it away from the beds.
At the Morris Island Cut, the town will increase the permitted channel from four feet deep by 75 feet wide to eight feet deep by 150 feet wide. It will also increase dredging spoils from 20,000 cubic yards to 40,000 cubic yards.
“This is a very dynamic area,” Keon said. He noted that there hasn’t been any dredging done to this area before but the original dredging permit was put in place prior to the break at South Beach, also known as Fool’s Cut, had occurred.
“This has become I-95 for vessel traffic,” Keon said. With some major shoaling, boats can only travel through mid to high tide. The town has plans to dredge at Stage Harbor this winter and will try to complete some dredging at the Morris Island Cut, he said. Conservation commission member Janet Williams agreed that Fool’s Cut has become a hotspot for recreational boaters. “Shoaling has increased a lot there,” she said. Keon added that increasing the channel here could provide another safe option for commercial fishermen to use.
Keon said even with the changes nothing is guaranteed. “I’m not going to guarantee any channel is going to stay here for a great, long time,” he said. But this amendment will offer a better likelihood for success.
The dredging spoils will be used to replenish Hardings Beach and Cockle Cove but there has been some interest in placing sand in front of homes at Morris Island and along Crescent Beach as well, according to Keon. Last winter brought some serious flooding and erosion in the Morris Island area.
Source: Wicked Local
