Caswell Cove, Dumping dredged materials in Shelton

The idea that the DEP could approve 3 different locations in the span of 1 week, where sediment dredged from a downstream marina's cove which are contaminated with heavy metals (ie mercury) could be deposited upstream of the location is ludicrous. Below is my letter to the editor sent to both the Ct.Post and NHRegister.

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Attention: Letters to the Editor March 10, 2007
Re: Caswell Cove sediment plan still leaves questions

Dear Editor,

The Housatonic River is the largest natural resource in Shelton and provides extensive recreational opportunities for the region. The plans to dump sediment in Shelton that will be dredged from Caswell Cove Marina in Milford raises a number of questions that need more thorough answers than those provided thus far.

Captain Dave Phillips, Manager Caswell Cove Marina, wrote in a Ct. Post letter of March 9th that “sediments in Caswell Cove are carried from upriver and deposited there”. He also stated that during dredging of the cove in 1994, sediment was brought upriver to be processed, and that dredging is desperately needed again to maintain the cove as a recreational boating and fishing resource or it will disappear in a few short years.

I think we can all agree that sediments such as silt dumped upstream in the river can become suspended and eventually settle where the current takes it. The Housatonic is at times a mighty river and will follow nature’s course. Apparently its course is causing the Caswell Cove Marina to require dredging every 13 years or so. If this is to be a perpetual dilemma, perhaps a closer analysis should be given. If the sediment were possibly deposited downstream of this dredging operation rather than upstream, would the need to keep revisiting the issue be minimized? Why not allow it to again be processed if it is “clean” as alleged?

Mr. Phillip’s editorial makes some veiled allegations that marinas other than Caswell Cove have spilled oil along with other sources of pollution from boat storage and maintenance work which it does not conduct, and consequently testing has shown that sediment in the cove is “in fact cleaner than that upriver”. A March 6th Ct. Post article quotes Ct. DEP spokesman Dennis Schain as saying the Milford sediment is “no more contaminated” than sediment in Shelton. The New Haven Register article on March 10th quoted Mr. Brian Thompson, director of the Long Island Sound Programs of the Ct. DEP, that “Caswell Cove sediments have lower heavy metal concentrations than found in the sediments of Two Mile Island”

It would be a public service to make known the studies or test results of analyzed sediments. There are people eating fish caught in the river. There are people enjoying recreation along the shores of Two Mile Island. Are there traces or even “concentrations” of heavy metals such as mercury in these sediments? It would be better to end speculation and provide factual data.

There was no notice given to Shelton’s Conservation Commission, Inland Wetlands Commission, nor Mayor regarding this potential activity. Although it may be beyond these local agencies jurisdictional control, it would be courtesy to ask for comment or at the least give notice in advance. Nobody in Shelton knew about this until someone asked a tugboat operator what he was here for. That lack of local knowledge reveals a process which needs improvement.

The DEP must recognize that there is renewed interest in the Housatonic. Dwellings are locating along the banks and ridge lines forming the river’s valley. Marinas are looking to expand, and rundown riverfront factory buildings are being revitalized into residential condo units. This development interest is being balanced in Shelton with investment to the sewer treatment plant to improve the health of the river, acquisition of open space land where appropriate to maintain a view-shed or provide recreational opportunities, and creating a riverwalk pedestrian facility for public enjoyment of the river.

As recently as February 8th, the Shelton Board of Aldermen was presented with a report on the health of the river by a representative of the Housatonic Valley Association, the oldest watershed group in the country, in operation since 1941. They had over 50 volunteers recently survey streams leading into as well as the Housatonic River itself. It was reported that “the improvement over the last 20 years is dramatic”. Is dumping sediments which contain concentrations of heavy metals into an upstream location a step in the right direction? I would submit no.

Thomas Harbinson
Chairman Shelton Conservation Commission

Data notes for editor:
The above hyperlinked components of the letter to the editor show the various articles or meeting minutes being referred to.

The HVA has a Housatonic River Estuary guide that shows both Sunnyside and Caswell areas of the river as fishing locations:
http://www.hvatoday.org/publications/EstuaryGuide.pdf

To view the river and witness the vast recreational use of it, here is an 8minute video taken from a Kayak traveling from Derby to Shelton:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-2748771014391552637&q=shelton+housatonic