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Harbor officials outline mooring expansion, harbor-plan review and Southport dredging pilot project
Summary
Harbor Management Commission and Shellfish Commission members reported upcoming mooring additions, a harbor-plan review, a Boy Scout cleanup project and a Southport dredging pilot that dispersed clean sand offshore with plans to plant oysters on the new bottom.
Members of the Norwalk harbor and shellfish commissions reported several administrative and project updates at the Feb. 6 meeting, including contested local elections for the Harbor Management Commission, a plan-review effort, and an out-of-town dredging pilot that officials said could inform future Norwalk projects.
Harbor Management Commission Chairman (reported during the Shellfish Commission meeting) said elections for the harbor commission were upcoming and that officials anticipate adding eight or more transient moorings for visitors next year; the transient moorings will be reservable through a dock app used by the city’s recreation department. The harbor committee also described an Eagle Scout cleanup project at recreation parks and welcomed Don Remsen as a newly seated harbor commissioner, bringing the commission to full complement.
Jeff Mangels and other harbor commissioners described a recently completed Southport dredging project carried out with several U.S. Army Corps of Engineers districts. Mangels described a process that excavated clean sand from a shoal using a hopper dredge, transported it and dispersed the sandy material about a mile offshore at a DEEP-designated location. He said the Bureau of Aquaculture plans to plant oysters on the new sandy bottom in about a year to test oyster propagation on sand rather than the current silty substrate. Mangels credited district teams from Wilmington, North Carolina, New England, and Vicksburg, Mississippi for the project’s execution.
Commission members also said they remain in discussion with the port authority and the bond commission about funding for a planned replacement of the Veterans Park Marina. One commissioner said $3.5 million is needed from the bond commission as part of a larger $10 million authorization by the port authority; the funds were not yet allocated at the time of the meeting. Commissioners also noted that the coordinator for the Norwalk River watershed action-plan update expected to deliver a scope of work soon and that the shellfish commission plans to attend a statewide gathering in New Haven to discuss regulatory and interagency topics.
When asked how long the Southport dredging process took, a commissioner replied, “So 35 years,” underscoring the lengthy planning and approvals behind large-scale navigation projects. Commissioners said they plan to prepare a summary report on the Southport project and expect to involve Corps project officers in future Norwalk planning.
No formal votes were recorded on these administrative updates; commissioners asked staff to continue coordination with state and federal agencies and to report back at future meetings.
