Army Corps withdraws Penobscot Bay dredging application
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has withdrawn its application for a state permit to dredge and deepen the channel for Searsport, but informed the Maine Department of Environmental Protection in a letter on Tuesday that it might file a revised application at a later date.
The Portland Press Herald reported that resistance to the project from local lobstermen, tourism business owners and environmentalists had centered on concerns that disposal of nearly 1 million cubic yards of dredged material would result in widespread mercury contamination in Penobscot Bay.
John Henshaw, director of the Maine Port Authority, told the newspaper that the Maine Department of Transportation remains committed to the project, which the port authority has said is vital to Searsport’s long-term viability as one of Maine’s three deepwater ports. Henshaw said the state would use the additional time resulting from the Army Corps’ application withdrawal to prepare for the public hearing process.
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