Woods Hole Group was responsible for environmental permitting of the maintenance and improvement dredging and disposal options for the navigation channel at Hyannis Harbor.  The sponsors of the project were the New England District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Massachusetts Department of Environmental Management, and the Woods Hole, Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket Steamship Authority.  A total of 262,500 cubic yards of material were permitted for removal as a result of the maintenance and improvement portions of the project.  Silty materials dredged from the Inner Hyannis Harbor basin were permitted for disposal in a Confined Aquatic Disposal (CAD) pit located in Outer Hyannis Harbor.  The CAD pit was permitted for changes to construction in the Outer Harbor beneath the original entrance channel which was abandoned and replaced by a more direct channel.  The CAD pit was capped with clean sand dredged hydraulically from adjacent channel reaches.  All other sandy material dredged during the project was permitted for use as beach nourishment at nearby sites in Barnstable and Yarmouth.

Over a one-year period, Woods Hole Group worked with the project proponents and local, state, and federal environmental regulatory agencies to develop a plan for the dredging and disposal, and to address all of the permitting requirements.  Woods Hole Group prepared a Final Environmental Impact Report (FEIR) for the project, addressing concerns regarding impacts to shellfish and finfish, eelgrass, beach stability, endangered species, and wetland resources.  Specific concerns regarding CAD site stability, construction sequencing and management, and monitoring also were addressed.

Local applications to the Barnstable and Yarmouth Conservation Commissions were filed and permits were received.  Woods Hole Group was also responsible for obtaining the necessary permits from the Department of Environmental Protection Division of Waterways (Chapter 91 permit).  Coordination and close communication with the environmental permitting agencies was required to ensure the successful completion of this large-scale dredging project.