PORTLAND (AP) — Three areas in Portland Harbor have been identified as possible disposal sites for dredged sediment from the city’s waterfront.
The Portland Harbor Non-Federal Dredge Workgroup will outline its proposal and provide other details about plans for so-called confined aquatic disposal cells to the Waterfront Alliance, a group of Portland and South Portland marine interests on Tuesday.
The cells are holes dug into the harbor bottom, filled with dredged material, and capped. They would contain dredged material from Portland Harbor’s public and private piers, slowly being choked by mud.
Bill Needleman, waterfront coordinator, tells the Portland Press Herald the cells are environmentally safe and cheaper than other sediment disposal options. He says dumping a cubic yard of sediment at sea costs about $22 compared to $100 for land disposal.
Comments are not available on this story. Read more about why we allow commenting on some stories and not on others.
We believe it's important to offer commenting on certain stories as a benefit to our readers. At its best, our comments sections can be a productive platform for readers to engage with our journalism, offer thoughts on coverage and issues, and drive conversation in a respectful, solutions-based way. It's a form of open discourse that can be useful to our community, public officials, journalists and others.
We do not enable comments on everything — exceptions include most crime stories, and coverage involving personal tragedy or sensitive issues that invite personal attacks instead of thoughtful discussion.
You can read more here about our commenting policy and terms of use. More information is also found on our FAQs.
Show less