News Release
| Release Number: | 06-092 |
| Dated: | 6/29/2006 |
| Contact: | Mike McAleer, 503-808-4510 |
Corps’ dredge Essayons on site beginning Saturday, July 1
PORTLAND, Ore. -- The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced today that the Corps’ dredge Essayons will begin annual maintenance dredging at the Mouth of the Columbia River beginning July 1.
The Corps dredges the navigation channel each year to provide an avenue for safe transit across the Columbia River bar for large and small vessels. Navigation across the bar for commercial vessels supports local, regional and national economies and accounts for about $16 billion in international commerce annually.
The Essayons will be using the Shallow Water Ocean Disposal Site located oceanward of the north jetty in the vicinity of Buoy 7 and the Deep Water Ocean Disposal Site located six miles off the Mouth of the Columbia River.
A contract bid opening is scheduled later in July. Once a contact is awarded the contractor will begin dredging activities as soon as their dredge is available in the area. Use of the North Jetty Disposal Site use will begin when the contractor arrives at the Mouth.
“We like to keep boaters and the residents of the coastal community up to date on Corps dredging activities,” said Doris McKillip, project manager for the Corps. “By knowing when and where the dredges will be operating, recreational boaters and fishermen can minimize the risk to themselves and their equipment.”
“Our dredge captains have always appreciated the cooperation they get from the crab fishing community, and their willingness to move crab pots out of the disposal and transit areas,” McKillip said.
More information about the Corps’ dredging activities at the Mouth of the Columbia River is available on Portland District’s website at https://www.nwp.usace.army.mil/op/n/projects/mcr.