U.S. Senators Olympia J. Snowe and Susan Collins today praised final passage of the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) that authorizes $26.9 million to help ensure that the Army Corps of Engineers will have the funds necessary to fully protect the residents and beachfront at Camp Ellis in Saco.
“We applaud the passage of this legislation that will help ensure that Camp Ellis receives the resources it needs to save the shoreline and beachfront homes from further destruction,” Senators Snowe and Collins said in a joint statement. “We must take into account that the problem was caused by the federal government and the Army Corps through the construction of a jetty that has caused devastating erosional impacts to the shoreline. Camp Ellis has waited far too long and seen far too many homes lost for this problem to continue unaddressed.”
Specifically, WRDA authorizes the Secretary of the Army to carry out the Camp Ellis Beach Restoration Project to mitigate shore damage attributable to the Saco River project.
The Water Resources and Development Act also includes the following projects:
- Rockland Harbor. Allows the mooring of the historic windjammer fleet in Rockland. The language would allow Lermond Cove to become the new Windjammer Wharf in the City of Rockland. The Maine Windjammer Association has slowly expanded its business and has spent $300,000 annually to advertise to tourism. Conservatively, the Windjammers spend over 2.5 million dollars a year in the state.
- Rockport. Deauthorizes the Federal Navigation Channel to allow the Town will be able to install permanent pilings to secure a set of new municipal floats, which would replace the current temporary float system.
- Saco River. The language would allow the moorings of boats on the Saco River. The City of Saco has requested this language to ensure that they are not in violation of a Federal Navigational Project. The Mayors of Saco and Biddeford support this language.
- Union River, Ellsworth. Designates an area as an anchorage area to expand moorings in the harbor without interfering with navigation. This is a major part of Ellsworth’s redevelopment efforts.
- Northeast Harbor. Removes the Federal Navigation Channel in Northeast Harbor to expand moorings during the summer months. Recently, the demand for moorings has significantly expanded in the harbor and currently has a waiting list of over sixty people including commercial operators.
- Tenants Harbor. Deauthorizes the Federal Navigational Channel in order to maximize mooring areas. Effectively, the Federal Navigation Channel restricts the area for moorings. This language would cease that restriction and expand mooring area.
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