WELLS — When a major dredging of Wells Harbor was completed in October 2013, planning for the effort had begun about six years prior.

Wells has been waiting a number of years for another dredge to place, said Wells Town Manager Jon Carter, and added that York has been waiting around a decade for a dredge of its harbor, he added.

Most dredges in the area are conducted or overseen by the Army Corp of Engineers, but that can take years. In addition, although the Corp pays much of the cost of approved projects often a substantial local match is needed. For the 2014 dredge of Wells Harbor, the town had to pony up $525,000 of the total $3.5 million cost.

In an effort to decrease the wait time for dredging to take place, as well as save money, Wells, York, Saco, Kennebunk, Kennebunkport and Scarborough are some of the southern Maine towns considering a group purchase of a dredge that they could each use, said Paul Schumacher, executive director of Southern Maine Planning & Development  Commission.

While many of these communities have received the necessary permits to allow dredging, there is backlog, “There is either no money or a machine isn’t available” so the work hasn’t been conducted, Schumacher said.

Purchasing a dredge locally is “an alternative to waiting years for dredges by the Army Corp of Engineers,” said  Carter. He said he believes the purchase could be cost efficient and it would beneficial because the town “would not be waiting on the feds and not paying the feds rate.”

SMPDC has received preliminary approval for a $30,000 grant from the Maine Coastal Program Shore and Harbors Program to fund a feasibility study on the cost vs. benefits of purchasing a dredge to be used by local communities, Schumacher said.

On Tuesday, the Wells Board of Selectmen unanimously approved paying $1,000 as part of a local match for the grant.

The plan is modeled on what one Cape Cod Massachusetts community has done, he said. 

The government of Barnstable County, Massachusetts, purchased it’s own dredge 20 years ago, according to Barnstable County Commission Chair Leo Cakounes. The dredge is available for use by all of the municipalities within the community. He said the communities find it very cost-efficient as the rate is about half or less of what it would cost to pay a private company.

The purchase was well worth it, Cakounes said, so much so that the county has ordered a second dredge, that is being paid for through a special county dredge fund — the communities pay when they use the dredge and that money goes to the special fund that pays for maintenance, labor and now a new dredge.

He noted that any community or group of communities considering such a purchase keep in mind that a lot of planning is involved to ensure that it is worthwhile.

“A $2 million piece of equipment isn’t doing anyone any good if it isn’t being used,” said Cakounes. “You have to operate it as much as it possible can. … (The cost-savings) all goes away if you don’t use it.”

He said communities need to work together to make sure they have the necessary permits, which can be a lengthy process. He also noted that during the planning process the timing of when to conduct dredges in particular areas needs to be considered as dredges shouldn’t take place during peak fishing season and certain other times.

Another advantage of purchasing the dredge is that it could be used to take any dredged beach sand and move it to beaches that need renourishment, Schumacher said. Beach renourishment is a long-term goal of the state.

Massachusetts-based Woods Hole Group would be hired to conduct the feasibility study of a dredge purchase, to most likely take place this fall, Schumacher said.

He said if the study determines that buying a dredge makes sense, funding could come from state grants, federal grants, local communities or a mix of these and other avenues.

— Associate Editor Dina Mendros can be contacted at 282-1535, ext. 324, or dmendros@journaltribune.com.