Wilmington Harbor Deepening
an environmentally damaging project
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) plans to expand the Wilmington Harbor by deepening the port from 42 to 47 feet. They recently released an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and are asking for public comment through November 3rd via mail/email or at a public open house on October 8th (details).
ACTION ALERT
by Linda Schoeni, Cape Fear Sierra Club Conservation Chair
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Wilmington District has opened a public comment period on its draft environmental impact statement (EIS) of the Wilmington Harbor project. Public comments on the multi-million dollar project to deepen the main channel from a depth of 42 feet to 47 feet will be accepted through November 3rd. The Corps’ draft letter report and draft EIS are available online: https://wilmington-harbor-usace-saw.hub.arcgis.com/ . Environmental issues mentioned in the report and EIS include increased salinity, wetlands function impact, and loss of fish habitat in the Cape Fear River. The potential impacts of dredging and disposing of PFAS-contaminated soils as well as the release of PFAS from Brunswick County’s nearly finished reverse osmosis (RO) plant are not mentioned. PFAS contamination in the Cape Fear navigation channel is currently one of the many critical environmental concerns that must be addressed.
USACE officials are scheduled to host a public open house on October 8th from 3-7 pm at Cape Fear Community College’s downtown Wilmington campus Union Station Building, Daniels Hall, 502 N. Front St. Participants will get the opportunity to speak with officials, learn about the conditionally authorized project, ask questions and provide comments.
Public comments may also be submitted by Nov. 3rd by email to WilmingtonHarbor403@usace.army.mil, by mail to ATTN: Wilmington Harbor 403, 69 Darlington Ave., Wilmington, N.C. 28403, or by comment card at the public meeting.
Open Letters from Engineer Brayton Willis
Detailing significant concerns of this project including those ignored in the EIS, like PFAS contamination
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