Dredging at Hells Gate Postponed

Partial government shutdown delayed project at state park near Lewiston; work now set for December

The planned dredging of the marina at Hells Gate State Park near Lewiston won’t happen until next winter because of delays linked to the recent partial government shutdown and other logistical issues.

Park officials secured a permit from the Army Corps of Engineers and made other arrangements to dredge the marina, which has become clogged with sediment and is as shallow as 1½ feet during low-flow periods. But the 35-day government shutdown delayed analysis and sign-off on the work by regulators at NOAA Fisheries to ensure sediment removal wouldn’t harm protected fish like bull trout, steelhead and chinook salmon.

Park manager Charlie Chase said by the time NOAA officials issued the permit, only one month remained in the winter work window, when dredging is least likely to harm the protected fish. Park officials had made arrangements to rent a dredge, but Chase said the owner of the equipment needed two weeks to deliver it.

“My boss and his bosses decided if we were going to rent a dredge for a month, we wanted a full month’s work out of it. They made the decision to postpone,” he said.

Dredging is now scheduled to begin in December. That will mean another summer of shallow depths at the marina where some customers moor their boats and others purchase fuel from a floating gas pump or empty onboard toilets at a sewage processing station.

“The marina area north of the handling dock, in front of the marina store, will be approximately 1½ feet deep, or less, during the summer. This includes the sewage pump-out station, gasoline dock and mooring slips,” Chase said. “Boaters, especially those with outdrives or outboard engines, will need to use extreme caution in these areas.”

Chase said the boat ramp and associated docks south of the marina store and the entrance to the Snake River are not encumbered by sediment.

“If you are launching and just going out (to the river), it’s not a problem,” he said. “The launch is the deepest spot.”

The marina was last dredged in 1992 during the drawdown of the Snake River behind Lower Granite Dam. Chase said park officials took advantage of the drawdown and used heavy equipment such as front-end loaders to remove excess sediment.

Next winter, park officials plan to use a rented dredge to remove 20,000 cubic yards of sediment from the marina. The sediment will be deposited on nearby park land that has been prepared to receive it.

The park received a $90,000 grant from the state Waterways Improvement Fund to pay for the work. The fund is maintained through a portion of the state’s gasoline tax.

Barker may be contacted at ebarker@lmtribune.com or at (208) 848-2273. Follow him on Twitter @ezebarker.

_{Source: lmtribune.com}