Saco to send letter of support to Army Corps

SACO — The city is taking steps to open up discussion again with the Army Corps of Engineers regarding a plan to mitigate erosion caused by the Saco Jetty.

The Saco Jetty extends out 6,600 feet into the ocean from the mouth of the Saco River. Built in the late 1800s by the Army Corps to provide a smooth shipping channel in the Saco River, the jetty has long been blamed for erosion by displacing  the natural flow of sand. Over decades, erosion has wiped out homes and streets.

The federal government in 2006 appropriated $26.9 million for a project to help mitigate erosion caused by the jetty. A project has yet to be agreed upon.

In 2018, the Army Corps proposed a project that included a 750 foot spur off the side of the Saco Jetty reinforcements to sections of the main jetty and the delivery of 225,000 cubic yards of sand to the beach.

The city had concerns regarding the proposal – namely that the city would be responsible for future inspections and maintenance of the jetty – and declined to support it.

In January, the Army Corps tabled the project, and discontinued discussions with the city regarding the jetty.

The City Council on Monday night unanimously voted to send a letter to the Army Corps stating the city’s desire to go into a Project Partnership agreement with the Corps for a project to mitigate erosion caused by the jetty. A Project Partnership Agreement is a legally binding document between the federal government and a non-federal sponsor -in this case, the city of Saco- for construction of a project.

Mayor William Doyle said the letter would allow the city and the Army Corps to have discussion.

“We are not at the Project Partnership agreement phase, this is simply a letter to unshelve the project” said Doyle.

Though he did vote for the letter to be sent, Councilor Nathan Johnston expressed some reservations, noting that the project was tabled because the city did not agree with the conditions of the Army Corps proposal.

“Do we really believe the Army Corps is going to be open to negotiations, as they haven’t previously,” said Johnston.

“All this does is authorize the city administrator to get the conversation restarted,” said Councilor Alan Minthorn. He said conversations needed to begin again, and the city could get into the minutia later.

“If we don’t do this, nothing starts,” he said.

Publisher Liz Gotthelf can be reached at [email protected].