Navy Awaits Permit To Dredge River For Passage Of BIW Ships

BATH, Maine - The Navy is hoping for a permit to dredge some of the Kennebec River to allow the passage of destroyers built at Bath Iron Works.The Times Record reports the decade-long permit would come from the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers. It would allow dredging from Bath to Phippsburg. The dredging would begin during the coming winter and move 80,000 cubic yards of sand and sediment from the bottom of the river. The dredging is meant to ensure military vessels made at the Iron Works can move from the river to the open ocean. The Navy says it expects maintenance dredging would be needed every three years.