Tag: Army Corps of Engineers

WERU Special 8/25/14

Producer/Host: Amy Browne
Studio Engineer: Joel Mann

The US Army Corps of Engineers and Maine DOT are proposing a dredging project in Searsport Harbor that would result in nearly a million cubic yards of materials being dumped in Penobscot Bay near Islesboro. The project would deepen and widen the shipping channel. Supporters say that would improve commerce in the port, but opponents say the economic and environmental risks far outweigh any potential benefits.

Joining me in the studio today are Joel Pitcher of the Maine Lobstering Union, and attorney Kim Tucker. She represents the Maine Lobstering Union, Pemaquid Muscle Farm, and the Sierra Club of Maine as well as some individual members of the Zone D lobster council. The program also features excerpts from an interview with Dr. Kevin Yeager- an independent scientist who previously worked on the Holtrachem/Mallinkrodt mercury case in the federal court system. He is the author of a new report that raises serious concerns about the plan– among them the possibility that inert mercury in the sediment may be converted to a more toxic form and make its way into the food chain in Penobscot Bay. He also criticizes the methology the Army Corps used in their sediment sampling.

WERU News Report 4/29/14

Producer/Host: Amy Browne

There’s another new development in the Searsport dredge and dump controversy to report this week. The Army Corps of Engineers- the federal agency promoting the project- has apparently failed to take into account the close proximity of a muscle farming operation. Pemaquid Muscle Farm is located just 5000 feet from the proposed dump site. This despite the fact that it is clearly shown on charts of the area. Kim Tucker, one of the attorneys that helped defeat the LPG tank proposal in Searsport, represents the Pemaquid Muscle Farm:

RadioActive 4/02/09

Producers/Hosts: Amy Browne & Meredith DeFrancesco

Segment 1: Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have scathing criticism of the Maine Department of Transportation’s plan to start a federal Umbrella Wetlands Mitigation Bank on Sears Island— and they have made their concerns known to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers who is currently considering MeDOT’s proposal. We talk with Kyla Bennett, Director of the New England branch of PEER, to get the details. FMI: www.peer.org

Segment 2: Rob Brown, Executive Director of Opportunity Maine, talks about LD 1181, the “Green Jobs, Green Savings bill”, a proposal to create jobs and energy efficiency in Maine. Opportunity Maine authored the bill, it was sponsored by Rep. Seth Berry (Bowdoinham), and it has drawn an out-pouring of support from labor activists, environmentalists, students and others in recent public hearings. FMI: www.opportunitymaine.org

RadioActive 3/26/09

Producers/Hosts: Amy Browne & Meredith DeFrancesco
Segment 1: Local workers and union members speak out in support of the Employee Free Trade Act (EFCA)
Segment 2: Army Corps of Engineers Public Meeting tonight in Searsport. At stake: whether “Umbrella Wetlands Mitigation” will allow the Maine Dept of Transportation to build a port on Sears Island. Ron Huber joins us to talk about that issue, and also the lawsuit he recently filed against the state in hopes of protecting the island.
FMI: Ron Huber, 207-691-7485, coastwatch@gmail.com, www.penobscotbay.blogspot.com
Comments may be sent to: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New England District, Regulatory Division, Attn: Ruth Ladd, 696 Virginia Rd., Concord, MA 01742-2751 or 800-343-4789 or ruth.m.ladd@usace.army.mil (Reference Proposal File NAE-2008-1703)