Shaheen and Gregg tour Rye Harbor ahead of dredging

RYE - U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen and former U.S. Sen. Judd Gregg together visited Rye Harbor on Wednesday and received an update on dredging operations scheduled to begin this fall.

The dredging is necessary to combat the severe shoaling that has rendered parts of the waterway difficult to navigate. During their visit, Shaheen, a Democrat, and Gregg, a Republican, met with state and local officials, including the Geno Marconi, director of New Hampshire Ports and Harbors, and the Rye harbor master to hear a status update on the dredging plan as well as the need to preserve the use of this important harbor.

Shaheen and Gregg also participated in a boat tour of the harbor to see the shoaling and planned dredging up close.

"Dredging Rye Harbor is such an important priority for our coastal communities because the safety and livelihoods of our fishermen, the lobster industry and many more depend on it being fully operational," Shaheen said. "It transcends politics and is about delivering for our Seacoast businesses and families, and I appreciate Sen. Gregg's voice in this effort and that today we could see up close how the project will move forward this fall.

Shaheen said she fought to secure the funding for Rye Harbor project, and previously for Hampton-Seabrook Harbor, to ensure the state's harbors are safe and to assist the local economy.

"This was a team effort, involving the community, users of the harbor and especially the commercial fishermen," Gregg said. "But it never would have been completed without the efforts of Sen. Shaheen and I thank her very much for all of her work on this."

Shaheen said as a senior member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, she would continue to push for additional resources for the Army Corps of Engineers to prioritize other needs in the local community, including the Portsmouth Harbor and Piscataqua River Navigation Improvement Project.

Shaheen repeatedly called on the Army Corps of Engineers to dredge Rye Harbor and prioritize the project. In response to Shaheen’s efforts, the Corps included $4 million to complete dredging work at Rye Harbor in its fiscal year 2020 work plan, and later offered assurances to complete this work in a timely manner. Shaheen led efforts to help secure approval and funding to dredge Hampton-Seabrook Harbor, which started in the fall of 2019 and was completed.