Posted on January 26, 2017
By Jonathan Tressler, The News-Herald
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers earlier this month announced it will begin routine depth maintenance in the Grand River in Fairport Harbor later this year.
It’s an ongoing operation, officials report, necessary to maintain the depths required for large commercial vessels to enter and maneuver about the port.
In a public notice posted on the corps’ website, it explains that the operation is expected to take place between July 1 and Sept. 15.
“This project involves the removal of sediments that have accumulated in the channels since recent maintenance dredging,” the notice reads. “Sediments will be removed from the channel bottom by a mechanical dredge and placed into hoppers aboard ship or scow for transport to the designated dredged sediment placement area.”
The last time this specific operation took place was in 2011, officials report.
“They basically keep the river open to the turn basin,” confirmed Fairport Harbor Village Mayor Timothy Manross in a text message Jan. 23. “This accommodates shipping for salt and stones.”
He said that Grand River Village, across the harbor, is affected more from a commercial standpoint.
Grand River Village Mayor Christopher Conley was not available for comment Jan. 23. However, Fairport Harbor Village Administrator Rebecca Corrigan in an e-mail exchange said the corps’ maintenance operations are a big benefit for the surrounding communities.
“This is a great partnership between the Army Corps, businesses and the village,” she wrote. “The commercial channel in Fairport is a deep draft commercial harbor and is ranked 21st of the harbors in the Great Lakes region. This is just fabulous for our local economy and we appreciate the improvements.”
Fairport Harbor Port Authority President James Cardina said the corps did some dredging last year and that there’s usually some similar operation, to one degree or another, happening in the harbor every year or so.
“Usually they’ll come in, two years in a row, then a couple years will pass, then they’ll come back and do it again,” Cardina said in a phone interview Jan. 23. “I usually don’t know until they send me a post card about it.”
Cardina added that the port authority marina, which serves smaller vessels, gets dredged about once every five years.
The USACE reports this operation does not involve any contaminated sediments or those requiring environmental cleanup. It also asks anyone with comments about the upcoming dredging to submit them in writing by Feb. 2 to FairportDredging@usace.army.mil, or through the U.S. Mail: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers — Buffalo District, Environmental Analysis Team, 1776 Niagara St., Buffalo, NY 14207-3199, ATTN: Environmental Analysis – Fairport Dredging.
Source: The News-Herald
