USACE Invites Comments on Massey’s Ditch Dredging Plan

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Philadelphia District issued a public notice on October 19 to solicit comments and recommendations on a permit for the Massey’s Ditch Federal Navigation Channel Dredging Project in Sussex County, DE.

According to the notice, comments on the proposed dredging work – set to take place from Rehoboth Bay to the Indian River Bay – should be submitted, in writing, within 30 days.

The purposes of the project are to maintain safe navigable depths within the high vessel-traffic areas between Rehoboth and Indian River bays, and to provide for beach nourishment along Delaware Seashore State Park.

The applicant, Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DDNREC), proposes to discharge the dredged material along 4,000 linear feet of the coast within the surf zone to allow the sediment to naturally disperse and support littoral drift.

The public notice states that the entire federal channel will be dredged as needed, which is expected to result in the removal of approximately 50,000 cubic yards of accumulated sediment from Massey’s Ditch.

Dredging is also proposed north of Middle and Lynch Thicket islands, which is expected to remove another 50,000 cubic yards of sediment.