Posted on April 21, 2025
MENOMINEE — The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) is seeking public input on a planned renovation of the Menominee Harbor Federal Navigation Channel, which would deepen the harbor separating the U.P. from Wisconsin that is known for being the birthplace of many of the country’s U.S. Coast Guard and U.S. Navy vessels.
The harbor encompasses the area between Marinette, Wis. and Menominee, Mich. between the mouth of the Menominee River in the Bay of Green Bay and the Hattie Street Dam, a stretch of water than spans 2.7 miles. Currently, the harbor is between 12 and 23 feet deep. The USACE seeks to deepen the bottom of the harbor to 26 feet below the low water datum, plus or minus 2 feet of over-depth — additional dredging to keep the depth maintained — to meet the draft requirements of larger vessels.
The USACE argues, not deepening the harbor could result in “inefficiencies that translate to more costs for the regional and national economy.” It points to the need for new U.S. Navy frigates being constructed in the harbor to be launched in lightened, incomplete condition and being towed out of the river to avoid striking the harbor bottom, potentially leading to significant delays and increased costs as final testing and work is done away from shipbuilding facilites.
“A local shipbuilding company, Fincantieri Marinette Marine (FMM), may incur contract penalties and lost revenue as a result of additional ship delivery costs and be forced to reduce, or stop, the production of future vessels. This could cause significant stemming-from effects in the regional economy and negative social impacts,” the USACE wrote in its Draft integrated Feasibility Report and Environmental Assessment documents produced last month.
FMM has invested more than $300 million into its facility to prepare for frigate construction and is contracted to deliver six new frigates with options to build four more. The company employs nearly 2,000 people, approximately 40 percent of the local population, according to USACE calculations.
The USACE plans to dredge, blast rock, and then place dredge and rock in deep areas of Lake Michigan or areas near the shoreline in either Marinette or Menominee. Potential deepwater sites include one location east of Green Island, one due west of Chambers Island, and one site southwest of Chambers Island.
The documents out for public comment include alternative plans that would reduce the amount of dredging, either by reducing the depth or by dredging less of the harbor. However, the 26-foot-deep, full-channel plan has tentatively been selected as the preferred plan due to its positive economic benefit.
“The other alternatives considered also contribute to the national economy but to a lesser extent,” wrote the USACE.
If approved as presented, the project would initially cost $109,173,000.
At multiple points in the proposal documents, the USACE identifies the Upper Peninsula of Michigan/Northeast Wisconsin region as an “area of focus for the Department of Defense as it relates to the Defense Industrial Base.” The documents note the Industrial Base Analysis and Sustainment (IBAS) Program, a Department of Defense program, is investigating workforce development in the area and recently received a $50 million congressional appropriation for workforce development in the region.
Comments on the plan can be emailed to: MenomineeHarborStudy@usace.army.mil. Those making comments should refer to file MHNIS2025-001 in their email. The full plan documents can be found online at https://usace.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p16021coll7/id/27585.
