USACE to hold signing ceremony for Ashtabula Harbor project

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Buffalo District, and Ohio Environmental Protection Agency are planning a ceremony to mark the signing of a project partnership agreement for the Ashtabula Harbor project, informs the Star Beacon.

As reported, the ceremony will take place 10:30 a.m. Thursday at the Ashtabula Port Authority public docks, 498-400 Morton Drive.

The ceremony will celebrate the partnership between the two agencies for the creation of seven acres of submerged aquatic habitat at the port.

“Projects like this are extremely important now that open lake dumping of dredging materials is no longer an option,” Ashtabula City Manager Jim Timonere said. “We must keep the river dredged for both commercial and recreational activities, and finding beneficial uses for the materials, like this project and the funding it provides, will benefit both our environment and the local economy.”

Attendees at the ceremony will include U.S. Rep. David Joyce, State Senator Sean O’Brien, representatives from the Army Corps of Engineers, as well as local and state officials.

The partnership agreement, a legally binding agreement between the government and a non-federal sponsor for construction of a water resources project, will be funded under the Continuing Action Program, Section 204 of the 1992 water resources management.