Quincy Shipyard Seeks USACE’s Permit for Dredging
Jay M. Cashman of Quincy Shipyard, LLC, is seeking a permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to conduct work in waters of the U.S. to expand and modify the dredging footprint to Pier 1 in the Quincy Shipyard to create a turning basin in Quincy, Mass.
This work is proposed in the Fore River at 549 South Street in Quincy and involves the expansion and modification to the authorized dredging footprint at and adjacent to Pier 1 in the Quincy Shipyard in order to create a turning basin to accommodate the turning radius of larger vessels.
From 2016 to 2017, the Quincy Shipyard dredged an estimated 23,000 cubic yards of dredged material from the 2.5-acre berth adjacent to the proposed turning basin at Pier 1 to a depth of -38 feet mean low water (MLW) in order to accommodate larger vessels at the Designated Port Area site, which is reserved for marine industrial uses.
Due to concerns about the current depths expressed by pilots and captains of the larger vessels, the proponent proposes to expand the dredge footprint in order to create a turning basin to allow these large vessels to more easily maneuver into the newly dredged berth.
The work includes dredging of approximately 4,500 cubic yards of silty material from approximately 1.50 acres of subtidal habitat in the Fore River to a depth of -31 feet mean low water from existing depths ranging from -27 feet MLW to -31 feet MLW.
The area will be dredged to depths ranging from -31 feet MLW to -32 feet MLW in order to allow for vessels to reach the federal navigation channel, which is currently authorized to be maintained to a depth of -35 feet MLLW.
The dredged material will be loaded onto scows and the scows will be moored within the dredging site where the material within the scows will be allowed to settle for a minimum of 24 hours to allow for the fine material to drop out of suspension. Once the material has settled, the excess standing water will be decanted and returned to the project waters.
The dredged material will be offloaded from the scows and placed at a stockpile within the Quincy Shipyard before being transported to the Peabody Landfill to be used as cover.
