Town Finally Gets 10-year Dredge Permit Renewal

CHATHAM – After a delay of nearly two years, the town last week received the final approval to renew its 10-year dredging permit.

 The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers permit will allow the town to move ahead with long-awaited dredging of the Aunt Lydia’s Cove mooring basin. The Barnstable County dredge Sand Shifter arrived in the cove Feb. 18, along with piping that will be used to transport dredged sand to a disposal area on Tern Island.

 While the town has had state and local dredging permits in hand for some time, delays with the Army Corps kept the comprehensive permit from being renewed. Government shutdowns likely contributed to the delay, said Natural Resources Director Greg Berman.

 Because of last week’s blizzard, it’s possible that a new pre-dredge survey will be needed to determine if shoals have moved, said Berman. The original plan was to remove approximately 25,000 cubic yards of sand from the mooring basin to restore adequate depth for the town’s commercial fishing fleet. 

 The pipeline had been placed on the shore in anticipation of the storm, and high tides lifted it farther up on the beach, crushing a skiff near the Cow Yard town landing.

 Berman said the town is partnering with Mass Audubon, which owns Tern Island, to use the dredged sand to create habitat for nesting shorebirds. The island has hosted oyster catchers, least and common terns in the past. The sand will be pumped to the north side of the island, he said, to create both upland and intertidal habitat.

 With the permit in hand, the town will be attempting to pursue other dredging projects this month. Time of year restrictions due to shorebird nesting will prohibit dredging after April 1.

 After Aunt Lydia’s Cove, a small area of the Pleasant Bay channel off Scatteree will be dredged, said Coastal Resilence Director Catherine Ricks. Mill Creek, a portion of which was dredged last year under the town’s state permits, will then receive additional clearing, she said.

 “We were able to keep it open” last year, Berman said of the Mill Creek channel. “That was the main thing. It was dangerous close to closing.”

 The town will have monitors looking out for arriving shorebirds by the third week in March, and it is possible that the town could get a waiver to dredge later in the season, the officials said.

 The Army Corps is scheduled to dredge the Stage Harbor entrance channel this spring. “As far as we know that’s still on schedule,” Berman said.

 The cost of the dredge will come out of a $358,000 state dredging grant, with a 50 percent match from the town’s dredging fund.