Shaheen Announces Federal Funding for Hampton Harbor Emergency Dredging to Move Forward

(Washington, DC)— U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) issued the following statement in response to the Army Corps of Engineers’ (The Corps) release of their 2018 fiscal year work plan, which includes $275,000 to move emergency dredging efforts for Hampton Harbor forward. In March, Shaheen led the New Hampshire Congressional Delegation in calling on the Corps and the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to prioritize mitigation efforts for Hampton Harbor.

“I’m very pleased to see the Corps take an important step forward that clears the way for emergency dredging of Hampton Harbor,” said Shaheen. “This is New Hampshire’s largest commercial fishing port – the vitality of our coastal communities and seacoast economy depend on it to be operational, safe and efficient. I’m encouraged to see that this issue continues to be a priority of the Corps and will keep pushing until emergency dredging of the harbor is completed.”

The federal funding will go toward planning and operational services, which are preliminary steps that must be completed before emergency dredging can be conducted. Specifically, the Corps’ work plan will address the precise conditions for the dredging itself, and will also be used for administrative staffing related to the dredge contract.

Shaheen recently visited Hampton Harbor and released an exclusive video showing how badly the shoaling is occurring in the harbor, underscoring the need for federal assistance to perform emergency dredging. The Corps’ announcement follows a string of important steps to prioritize this project, including Shaheen’s successful effort to insert specific language to prioritize mitigation efforts for the harbor in the biennial water infrastructure bill that passed the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works (EPW) last month. The Senate Energy and Water Development Appropriations Subcommittee also included language in its yearly funding bill that passed the Appropriations Committee with broad bipartisan support that would prioritize emergency dredging for the harbor. Shaheen has repeatedly called for the Corps to dredge Hampton Harbor.

The Army Corps of Engineers’ fiscal year 2018 work plan can be read in full here.