Letter to the Hon. Mick Mulvaney, Director of the Office of Management and Budget and the Hon. Doug Lamont, Senior Official Performing the Duties of the Assistant Secretary of the Army Civil Works - Prioritize Maintenance Dredging of York Harbor, Saco River

Letter

Dear Director Mulvaney and Mr. Lamont:

We are writing in support of the urgent need for maintenance dredging of the York Harbor Federal Navigation Project (FNP) in York, Maine, and the Saco River FNP in Saco and Biddeford, Maine. As dredging of these areas is essential to address significant safety and navigational access concerns in the region, we urge you to allocate additional funding provided by Congress in fiscal year (FY) 2017 to the York and Saco small port and harbor projects.

The recently enacted FY 2017 Consolidated Appropriations Act provides funding for the Corps of Engineers' Civil Works program, including $49 million in additional operations and maintenance funding designated for small, remote, or subsistence navigation. This is funding designated by Congress to support our nation's small ports and harbors, which are the economic lifeblood for many coastal communities in Maine and throughout the country.

Since York Harbor's last dredging in 1996, more than 42,000 cubic yards of sand, silt, and clay have accumulated, hindering navigational access and compromising vessel safety. The Town of York has spent more than four years performing the required environmental studies and securing the requisite permits. York Harbor is a significant participant in the lobster and fishing industry in the State of Maine, and the significant lowering of the water level in York Harbor threatens the economy and safety in the local area. We support providing approximately $2 million in FY17 funding to dredge York Harbor, which supports and preserves an annual direct economic benefit of $12 million.

The Towns of Saco and Biddeford have also completed the permit process required for dredging of the Saco River, which has not received a maintenance dredging in over 24 years. The result of the neglect to the river is accumulation of more than 150,000 cubic yards of sand requiring removal. This dredged sediment would greatly assist in alleviating the on-going erosion at nearby Camp Ellis Beach, where to date 37 homes have been lost due to the erosion. We support providing approximately $3.2 million in FY17 funding to dredge the Saco River, which is home to more than 40 commercial fishing vessels and contributes more than $53 million in economic impact to the community each year.

Both the York Harbor and Saco River FNP's are "shovel ready," and completion of these projects would have a dramatic economic impact on the surrounding communities. To address these critical needs and maintain these essential water infrastructure projects in Maine, we urge you to prioritize funding in the Army Corps' FY17 work plan, consistent with all applicable laws and regulations. Thank you for your consideration of our requests.

Sincerely,

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