Hampton Harbor Dredge Funds Available Next Year

HAMPTON, NH - The Army Corps of Engineers could receive the money it needs to dredge the Hampton Harbor next year. According to WickedLocal, Lt. Gen. Todd Semonite, chief of engineers and commanding general of the corps, said approximately $275,000 for designs for the harbor’s dredging could be secured this year.

Semonite said $4 million would likely be needed for the harbor’s dredging, which could then be placed into the Corps’ 2019 work plan. Semonite broke the news to U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen in a hearing before a subcommittee of the Senate Committee on Appropriations.

Shaheen, D-N.H., testified that the harbor’s recent shoaling had made water so shallow in parts that boats now struggle to go in and out. The harbor was last dredged in 2013, but she said a report from the corps shows some areas of the harbor are less than a foot deep. “There is a probability that, if we do nothing, this harbor is going to be come unusable in the very near future, maybe even in the next year,” she said.

Shaheen said despite being smaller than other harbors for which project funding is sought, the harbor is critical to New Hampshire’s coastal economy. The harbor currently supports 25 party-fishing boats, numerous lobster and commercial fishing boats and approximately 1,500 recreational vessels.

“What can be done to address the small harbors like we have in New Hampshire, that we have across the country, that don’t rank as high on the priority list as some of the bigger harbors but are absolutely essential to the economies of our states?” Shaheen asked.

To check out the full story, visit Wicked Local here.

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