A growing number of ecological, economic and social pressures have prompted Island planners to consider a first-of-its-kind carrying capacity study for Martha’s Vineyard.
Reacting to an April 7 letter from the federal agency, selectmen sounded off about the decision to dredge Menemsha channel despite the town’s objections. “I’m not surprised but I am ticked off,” said selectman Jonathan Mayhew.
The Army Corps of Engineers will dredge a 10-foot channel in the Oak Bluffs harbor in the coming weeks, to improve navigation and provide safe access for boats entering the marina.
There was a 30-day public comment period on the plan nearly six years ago. No comments were received.
This week the Corps released updated details about the project. While the project approved six years ago called for 5,800 cubic yards of sand to be removed, the amount has now been reduced to 3,500 cubic yards, as the town conducted an emergency dredge of the harbor in 2006.
A bomb squad from the Massachusetts State Police detonated several pieces of unexploded ordnance left over from World War II on Chappaquiddick last Wednesday, sending a thundering boom across the island and rattling foundations from Cape Pogue to Sampson’s Hill.
The explosion prompted concerned calls to the Island communications center and Edgartown police department, and was the subject of speculation all across the tight-knit Chappy community for several days.
