Patriot Marine LLC

Dredged Material from Clinton Harbor
Enhances a Beach at Hammonasset State Park 

Dredged material is not usually considered a valuable coastal resource.  More often than not, the material scooped from navigation channels and marina basins is mucky, fine-grained sediment that is unsuitable for beneficial reuse, and instead is deposited at carefully managed locations in Long Island Sound.  In fact, in an effort to deal with this issue and plan for potential alternatives for managing dredged material in Long Island Sound, the States of Connecticut and New York are working with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on the development of a comprehensive dredged material management plan for the Sound  (please see the June 2011 issue of Sound Outlook for more information on the plan).   

Cedar Island Sand Spit Migrating into Clinton Harbor Photo Credit: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

The Connecticut DEEP authorized dredging of the federal channel in Clinton Harbor in 2008.  The partners involved in planning for the dredging project included the DEEP, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and  the Town of Westbrook, and the project was strongly supported by the operators of the marinas and facilities on the Indian and Hammonasset Rivers that were impacted by the filled-in channel.  The project was put on hold until financing could be secured.  In 2012--four years after the dredging was authorized--approximately $1 million from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (ACOE) and $1.7 million of State bond funds were pledged to cover the cost of this important project.