![]() ![]() These left a legacy of contaminants including PCBs, DDT residues, metals, and burnt and partially burnt hydrocarbons. Further up the Stroudwater River were coal gasification plants. Much of the contamination came from a time when heavy industries including sugaries, canneries, manufacturing facilities and coal facilities were on the Portland waterfront or on piers and wharves themselves. “Those private dollars that we’d be looking for are leveraging a great deal of public money,” Needelman said, “in recognition that … the pollution that has created the greatest barrier for dredging is largely coming from either natural public sources or historic legacy contaminants that are not the fault or cause of current owners.” The Maine Department of Transportation has agreed to cover half of that, or $2.99 million, and the rest would be paid in tipping fees by the cities and private owners based on the amount of material dredged. (Courtesy city of Portland)īUILD requirements stipulate that for urban areas, 20 percent of the project costs must be covered with local matching funds. The red areas and measurements indicated additional berthing space that could be gained by dredging along Portland piers. Department Of Transportation, to cover $24 million of the $29 million cost of dredging. The latest and most ambitious effort was the submission May 14 of an application for a Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development, or BUILD, grant from the U.S. Recognizing the impossible situation for pier owners and the need to clear public berthing areas, Portland, South Portland, and the harbor commission have been seeking public funding to tackle the problem. Disposal of dredged materials at federal ocean disposal sites requires biological assessments before a disposal fee is assessed. But the biological assessment required for disposal at sea of the sediments around his property alone would cost him $70,000-$80,000. “If they lose water depth, they no longer function, and we would have no choice, as a community, but to accept the diminution of the working waterfront in replacement with other uses.”Ĭharles Poole, owner of Union Wharf, said May 24 that he would like to have his pier dredged to 20 feet at low tide and the areas at the top of pier dredged just to 5-10 feet, so lobster boats can tie up. “These are existential issues for industries,” said Bill Needelman, Portland’s waterfront coordinator. As marine space is lost in the harbor, owners must turn to other uses for revenue such as office, retail, and restaurants. The same is true at the East End public landing, where emergency or maintenance vehicles must wait until two hours after low tide to board barges to the islands. As sediments build up, the piers and wharves lose berthing depth so boats can tie up and do business in smaller and smaller windows around high tide. Resuspended toxic sediments, stirred up by boat propellers and storms, impact the clean water on which the lobster and aquaculture industries depend and affect the health of the Fore River estuary. The persistent presence of toxins in the sediment around wharves and piers from an era of heavy industry on the harbor has far-reaching economic and environmental implications that affect the sustainability of the working waterfront and island communities, and has made maintenance dredging prohibitively expensive for property owners. ![]() … It was great to bring everybody into the fold and all go forward as a united front.” “Environmentally and economically it’s just a win for everybody. “This has been probably one of the most collaborative projects I’ve ever worked on,” commission Chairman Dan Haley said. Portland, South Portland, and the Portland Harbor Commission submitted an application last month for a $24 million federal grant to help fund the dredging in 2024 of contaminated mud from around the piers, wharves and berthing areas in Portland Harbor – a milestone in a decades-long collaboration between municipalities, government agencies, waterfront businesses, and environmental organizations. ![]()
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