Posted on January 17, 2017
The Department of Environmental Protection announced Wednesday that work will begin this month on a $34 million dredging project for portions of Flushing Bay near the World’s Fair Marina to drastically reduce odor emissions and better the waterway’s health.
“This $34 million dredging and wetland expansion project will help to clean up Flushing Bay and improve the quality of life for the residents of northern Queens,” DEP Acting Commissioner Vincent Sapienza said in a prepared statement. “I’d like to thank our partners who have worked with us on the extensive planning needed to carry out this project and we look forward to working together on our many other initiatives that will enhance the environment in and around Flushing Bay.”
Long-reach excavators on floating barges will dredge 91,000 cubic yards in a 17.5-acre area around two combined sewer outfalls and the marina starting this month, according to the DEP. An abandoned pier, non-native trees and 78 deteriorated timber piles will be removed so that views along a section of the Flushing Bay Promenade will be improved. More than three acres of wetland habitat will be enhanced in the project, an initiative which will filter water naturally in the bay, including intertidal marsh, high marsh and mudflats, the agency said.
The city Parks Department, Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and Federal Aviation Administration will coordinate the work together, as it is happening near LaGuardia Airport. Wildlife around and in the dredging area will be monitored by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
A turbidity curtain, an impermeable barrier, will be installed to isolate the work area from the rest of the bay during the dredging. Odors and water quality will be continuously monitored. The sediment extracted will be processed, dewatered and transferred for disposal at another site.
Although boaters with vessels docked in the marina will have access to their watercraft at all times, the dredging will be done 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Source: Queens Chronicle
