James Creek and Great Peconic Bay Dredging Plan on Display

The Suffolk County Department of Public Works has requested Department of the Army (DA) authorization to perform dredging, with ten-years maintenance and placement of all resultant dredged material at designated beach placement areas.

The project is located in James Creek and Great Peconic Bay; and the Great Peconic Bay shorelines northeast and southwest of the James Creek inlet to Great Peconic Bay; all located in the Town of Southold, Suffolk County, New York.

The area proposed for dredging is a meandering, approximately 1,125-foot long channel, comprised of three sections:

• approximately 50-foot wide by approximately 390-foot long section at the northwestern end inside James Creek;
• approximately 75-foot wide by approximately 345-foot long section through the James Creek inlet;
• approximately 100-foot wide by approximately 390-foot long section in Great Peconic Bay.

The total area proposed for dredging is approximately 2.0 acres.

All areas would be authorized for dredging to a depth of 6-feet below the Plane of Mean Low Water. Approximately 6,500 cubic yards would be initially dredged, with up to five additional dredging events during the 10-year maintenance period.

According to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ New York District, the decision whether to issue a permit will be based on an evaluation of the probable impact including cumulative impacts of the proposed activity on the public interest. That decision will reflect the national concern for both protection and utilization of important resources.

Comments submitted in response to this notice will be fully considered during the public interest review for this permit application. All written comments, including names and addresses, will be made a part of the administrative record, available to the public under the Freedom of Information Act.

The deadline for submitting the comments on this dredging plan is October 24, 2018.