5/3/17
Time for a Plan B.
Back in March, Eureka Parks and Recreation Director Miles Slattery outlined a plan for where to put the sediment that has accumulated along the bay floor at the Woodley Island Marina and Eureka’s public marina. Both the City of Eureka and the Humboldt Bay Harbor, Recreation and Conservation District had agreed to pursue a plan to deposit the sludgy dredge spoils on a beach on the Samoa Peninsula. That’s where such materials have been deposited for decades, including last time the marinas were dredged, back in 2007.
But yesterday, in a conference call with staff from the Harbor District and the City, officials with the Environmental Protection Agency rejected that plan in no uncertain terms.
Given the controversy over the City of Eureka and Humboldt Bay Harbor District’s plan to dump dredge spoils on Samoa Beach yet again, Humboldt Baykeeper has been getting a lot of questions about dredging. There are two very different types of dredging in Humboldt Bay. Dredging in the main harbor entrance channels is necessary for safe navigation for fishing vessels, fuel barges that deliver gasoline and diesel, the U.S. Coast Guard, research vessels like Humbolt State’s Coral Sea, and large ships that transport chips and logs (currently about six ships per year).