The issue is what to do with some 23 million cubic yards of excess material over the next 30 years.
Connecticut is prepared to go to court with the state of New York over the right to dump dredged materials in eastern Long Island Sound. Connecticut’s ports, Navy base, submarine yard and other marine facilities have a long-term natural problem: the water they depend on is getting shallower. Sand and other sediments get deposited by the action of rivers and the Sound, and periodically it has to be scooped out, or dredged.
The issue is what to do with that excess material, some 23 million cubic yards of it over the next 30 years.
A plan recently unveiled by the federal Environmental Protection Agency, in partnership with the Army Corps of Engineers, proposes to designate a deep water site in eastern Long Island Sound to receive some of it.
That’s unpopular with some environmentalists, who say the material is too polluted, and the state of New York recently threatened to sue the EPA if it moves forward.
But eastern Connecticut's marine industries are ramping up the pressure to approve the plan. Reeves Potts of Brewer Yacht Yards told a news conference Wednesday the dredging is essential for marinas and other businesses on the Connecticut shoreline. He said he's confident the plan does safeguard the environment. “I don’t think there’s anybody in this crowd or anybody in the state of Connecticut that feels any stronger than I do, or the people in our industry, about keeping Long Island Sound clean,” said Potts.
Inadequate dredging of a channel from the Thames River to the Sound was identified as an issue for Naval Base New London, as the military tried to close it in 2005.
Rep. Joe Courtney, from Connecticut's 2nd congressional district, said the EPA's plan is essential for the future of the base when there's a future round of closures. “At some point a BRAC is coming," he told the crowd, "and we need to take this issue off the list. And that’s exactly what this plan does.”
Courtney says any toxic materials that are dredged will be tested and contained under the plan, and the bulk of the material can still be used on land for things like beach restoration.
Gov. Dannel Malloy said the state stands ready to defend the plan against its neighbor. “Minor adjustments to the plan are things that could be talked about," he said. "But we need a site, so if they’re threatening to go to court, I can assure you that the state of Connecticut will participate in supporting the Environmental Protection Agency’s position.”
The eastern site would be one of several deep water disposal site designated in the Sound.
