title
Resolution Requesting Further Review of the Wilmington Harbor 403 Project
body
Department:
City Manager
Meeting Date:
1/20/2026
Contact Name:
Dennis LaCaria
Public Hearing:
No
Contact Phone:
910-341-7815
Advertising Date/Advertised By:
N/A
Attachments:
Attachment #1: Resolution
PURPOSE:
The purpose of this resolution is identify areas of concern and to request state and federal decision-makers to further review and give additional consideration to the potential effects of the Wilmington Harbor 403 project on the health and safety of the citizens of the City of Wilmington and the natural environment within and surrounding the City.
BACKGROUND:
The Wilmington Harbor 403 project ("Project") currently proposed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers ("Corps") aims to increase the depth of the Wilmington harbor from 42 feet to 47 feet and to widen certain channels for greater travel and turning efficiencies in an area from approximately nine miles seaward of Bald Head Island to the Cape Fear Memorial Bridge. In September 2025, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers ("USACE") published a draft letter report evaluating alternatives for the Project.
Staff has reviewed the draft report and identified the following concerns, which were addressed in a meeting with USACE staff and a letter provided to the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality ("NCDEQ") as part of their review of the project in December 2025:
* Need to evaluate a -51-foot dredging alternative to assess the long-term economic competitiveness of the deepening project, given that neither of the evaluated options addresses newer, deeper-draft vessels.
* Concern that the 24% proposed contingency is too low given the level of assessment completed to date.
* Potential for unintended impacts to cultural resources given the level of assessment completed to date.
* Concern that the report does not adequately address risk, testing, and remediation of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) a...
Click here for full text