GRAND HAVEN, Mich. — Congresswoman Hillary Scholten and members of the U.S. Corps of Engineers joined local leaders Friday to announce that dredging for Grand Haven's inner harbor will begin in October with a completion date of November 8th.
This after the dredging was put on hold, as the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) tested for PFAS.
Dredging in the Great Lakes has created a vital shipping line for the U.S. economy.
The Grand Haven's harbor supports over 450 jobs and generates more than $88 million annually.
Congresswoman Hillary Scholten emphasized that had the dredging been delayed further, we would have seen ripple effects across our economy.
“A missed dredging cycle could have increased shipping costs by up to 30%. Disrupted supply chains that would have resulted in $3 to $5 million in additional costs that would have been passed down to families like yours and mine,” Rep. Hillary Scholten said.
Scholten and the Army Corps of Engineers also state that they will continue to collaborate on how to remediate the currently contaminated areas for future projects.
“Unfortunately, PFAS tends to accumulate in the sediment at the bottom of the harbor. So what we didn't want is to take that contaminated sediment if it is that contaminated and move it to somewhere where it can contaminate our groundwater or fisheries,” EGLE Director Chief of Staff Gillian Gainsley said.
The chief of operations for the Army Corps of Engineers' Detroit District says the outer harbor is dredged annually, while the inner harbor is typically dredged every two to four years.
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