A proposed project to widen and deepen the Wilmington Harbor will be presented by the Army Corps of Engineers Wilmington District at an open house next month.
During the June 13 open house, the public may speak with Corps staff who will be at different stations to talk about the project.
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The open house will be held at Cape Fear Community College’s Union Station Building, 502 N. Front St., Wilmington.
The North Carolina State Ports Authority wants to deepen the main shipping channel in the Cape Fear River from 42 feet to 47 feet and the ocean entrance to the river from 44 feet to 47 feet. It also seeks to widen the channel in multiple areas.
The proposed project is to make room for larger container ships coming to the East Coast from Asia, which would allow the Wilmington port to remain competitive with other East Coast ports, according to the ports authority.
The open house will begin at 4 p.m. with an introduction video following by two, back-to-back 30-minute presentations about the proposed project. The first presentation will be held from 4:30 p.m.-5 p.m. with a repeat representation to follow from 6 p.m. – 6:30 p.m.
The Corps is partnering with the ports authority to develop the Wilmington Harbor Clean Water Act Section 403 letter report and environmental impact statement, or EIS, which are estimated to cost $8.5 million and be completed in four years.
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Various groups, including the Brunswick County Branch of the NAACP, have raised concerns about the proposed project’s potential impacts to the environment, the Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor, and environmental justice communities.
The Corps is accepting public comments at the open house and through June 30.
For more information about the project and to submit comments visit https://wilmington-harbor-usace-saw.hub.arcgis.com/
