'Not getting anywhere.' Dredging for Cataumet waters a long wait, Bourne officials say

BOURNE — The town has become one of the Cape’s premier boating communities in recent years, but efforts to secure federal approval for a planned dredging project in the south channel of Bassetts Island at Cataumet will languish at year’s end.

Intercession by representatives from the offices of U.S. Rep. William Keating, D-9th, and U.S. Sens. Edward Markey, and Elizabeth Warren, both D-Massachusetts, have not prompted the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to approve the Bourne dredging permit, said town Shore and Harbor Committee members.

“We won’t get anything this year,” said committee Chair Rich Libin on Nov. 9. “The maintenance dredging is badly needed. The channel is popular with boaters. But I guess we can get by for another year or two years. But there has been talk about proceeding without a Corps permit.”

Army Corps dredge permits are pending for Bourne, Falmouth and Truro, Libin said. Yarmouth work is getting underway, and Mashpee dredging has just concluded, he added.

The Shore and Harbor Committee advises the Select Board on shoreline and water issues as well as waterways regulations. The last dredge project in Bourne was completed two years ago and cleared the Pocasset River of silt that, according to town records, had built up since the late 1950s.

Bassetts Island channel out into Buzzards Bay is heavily used

Bourne Harbormaster Chris Southwood is similarly concerned given that the south Bassetts channel has a lot of boat use. The passage is strategically located near Red Brook Harbor and Buzzards Bay, and the Cape Cod Canal. The harbor is home to Kingman Marina, Parker’s Boat Yard and a large mooring field.

“We’ve been told that we have the necessary permits when we call the Corps,” Southworth said. “But we’re still waiting on the Army Corps. We’re not getting anywhere. They have (review) agencies within the Corps. While we have three towns all fighting for their dredging in the same three-month window of opportunity.”

Libin said the final permit-approval snag impacts the Barnstable County dredge program, which must coordinate dredge movement from one extreme end of the Cape to the other; and in doing so would likely spend more time in transit than in dredging operations.

“The last thing we all want to happen is for the county dredge, with new equipment, to shut the operation down. Dredging project costs would triple,” Libin said. “And there are no local contractors that have the necessary equipment to undertake the project.”

Southwood said once Bassetts dredging commences, the sediment would be delivered to the middle of the barrier beach island. “According to the permits and the quality of the sediment, the material would be de-watered and spread in an already designated area as the last project,” he said on Nov. 13.

The Army Corps did not respond to a Nov. 10 email request for a status update on the Bassetts dredging permit.

Long wait list for mooring permits also influences Bourne boating

Dredging planning and securing permits represent the framework of the town of Bourne boating picture. There are 862 mooring requests on a wait list, with 261 of those being non-boatowners. People without boats, who manage to snag a mooring, have one year to place a craft on it.

There is also a frustration factor, the committee members said. Some boat owners with moorings do not use their craft. This, they said, causes calls of complaint to the town Natural Resources Department by people stuck on a two-decade mooring wait list.

Libin, who is the town cove master for Barlows Landing, said there are 54 names on the wait list for his area in Pocasset at the foot of Barlows Landing and Cove Roads. He said 20 do not own boats.

Libin and Southwood agreed that many on the wait list tell town officials they are set on buying smaller craft, but then they opt for bigger boats. At that point, both men agreed, too many object to not being able to place their boat, due to size issues and mooring swing space, in preferred locations.

Southwood also said that the three-year COVID-19 experience resulted in people buying bigger craft.

Thanks to our subscribers, who help make this coverage possible. If you are not a subscriber, please consider supporting quality local journalism with a Cape Cod Times subscription. Here are our subscription plans.

This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: Popular boat channel in Cataumet needs maintenance dredge, town says