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The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Jacksonville District has announced the start of St. Lucie Inlet dredging operations.
The $9.3 million project, awarded to Great Lakes Dredge and Dock Company, calls for the dredging of St. Lucie Inlet entrance channel and impoundment basin to required depths of 10 to16 feet with an allowable over depth of 2 feet.
The dredging was set to start on July 2; however, the project was temporarily suspended due to environmental conditions/concerns when the Queen Conch, a recently listed threatened species, was discovered within the project area on June 28, prior to the contractor’s arrival on site.
In coordination with the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), USACE requested an approval for “Urgent and Compelling Need” to relocate the Queen Conch away from the project area, in order to protect the threatened species.
Once given the green light by NMFS, a specially licensed contractor successfully relocated the Queen Conch on July 19, allowing the temporary suspension of the project to be lifted and cleared the way for dredging that began on July 20.
This allowed USACE to continue forward with the mission to dredge the navigation channel, maintaining safe depths for vessels.