Island setfor dredging

`The Port of Portland dredge Oregon is scheduled to begin placing sand spoils on Ohrberg's Beach at the lower end of Puget Island next week.

The dredge will move in Monday or Tuesday and begin clearing 300,000 cubic yards of sand out of the Columbia River shipping channel, said John Gornick of the US Army Corps of Engineers.

The dredge crew will start at the lower end of the Island, fill the county sand pit, and then move upstream along the beach as far as the sand goes, said dredge skipper Jeff Hawkins.

The work barely comes soon enough for two familes whose houses are threatened by eroding banks.

"This is pretty good news," said Bob Ohrberg, owner of one of the houses. "We've been waiting for this for a long time."

Gornick said that changes in the understanding of of the underwater beach front environment has led federal agencies to reverse policies and allow dumping of sand along shorelines, called beach nourishment.

"They used to think it harmed fish; now they want the sand kept in the system," he said. "It's good for us; it's less expensive to do beach nourishment than other disposal methods."

Gornick added that the area has been identified as a potential long-term disposal site. Wahkiakum County paid for permitting of the current project, but the Corps absorbs permitting costs for its long-term disposal sites.

Hawkins commented that while the dredge crews are working, Island residents may notice noise from boats and machines, lights at night, and other activity. The dredge crews work 24 hours a day, Monday through Friday. He estimated the work would take 10-15 days.

Little Cape Horn resident Richard Erickson suggested the Corps could use a two-mile long stretch of beach in that area as a disposal site. It has received sand in the past, and residents have signed right-of-entry permits that would allow dredge crews to work on their property.

Gornick said he would consider adding the site to the new proposed long-term disposal sites.