Local businessman asks for dredging of Eastpoint channel

Local business owner Bruce Millender is asking that the county get more aggressive toward getting the Eastpoint Channel dredged.

Mister Millender is the owner of Seaquest Seafood in Eastpoint and he said it’s getting harder for fishermen to go to work because of how filled in the channel has become.

The channel hasn’t been dredged in over 20 years.

Its been a top local priority for years so that larger boats like shrimp boats can use the channel to dock and offload seafood.

Right now the channel is so shallow even oyster boats have a hard time on low tides.

The project did almost happen in 2006 but the money for the dredging wound up being spent in New Orleans and since then the project has not been re-funded.

The estimates for the project are between 1 and a half and three million dollars depending on where the spoil is placed.

In order to get the project moving, the county first has to find a way to get the project funded at the federal level and then make sure that the project is properly permitted.

That may be an impossible task but the board did vote to contact our federal legislators to ask that the dredging project be funded this year.

The board also agreed to contact our state legislators to make sure that the project gets all of the necessary state permits.

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