Franklin County Commissioners last week signed an agreement with the Gulf Consortium for 5 million dollars in matching funds needed to start dredging activities at the the Eastpoint Channel and 2 mile channel off Apalachicola this fall.
That money is needed to pay the US Army Corps of Engineers for the work.
The Gulf Consortium is a group created after the BP oil spill which is distributing billions of dollars in BP oil spill money to counties that were hit hardest by the spill.
Each dredging project is expected to cost around 3 million dollars – the Corps of Engineers already has one million dollars in hand from an allocation through congress.
These dredging projects have been waiting for years and commissioners do not want to wait any longer.
The Eastpoint Channel hasn't been dredged since 1985 and is now so shallow most boats can't even use it except on high tide.
That channel will be dredged from just west of the Eastpoint boat ramp to Barbers Seafood on the East, the original length, width and depth of the channel.
The two mile channel will be dredged from the mouth of the Apalachicola River to the Olin B. Ward waterfront park.
The dredging is expected to begin sometime after hurricane season ends, though an exact date is not yet known.
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