“This is huge for communities up and down the coast.”

“This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” Sicard said. The dredge will be … equipped with a rotating cutter head that loosens and lifts sand… In time, the goal is to have the dredge be self-sustaining from revenues generated from dredging projects for municipalities and possibly boatyards and other privately owned properties, said Al Sicard, chairman of the York County Commission. The dredge would be managed through a newly created nonprofit organization called the Southern Maine Dredge Authority and would be rented on a “pay-as-you-go” system as dredging projects arise. If all goes according to plan, the dredge should arrive in spring and be in operation for the 2024-25 dredging season, if not sooner. The York County Commission has given the green light to purchase an 86-foot suction dredge using $1.54 million in federal funding made available through the American Rescue Plan Act.

Grants and Scholarships Portal – Apply HereĬoastal communities in Southern Maine stand to benefit from a new dredge that will be used to improve navigational channels and replenish beaches from Kittery to Scarborough and possibly beyond.

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