title
Resolution Requesting Further Review of the Wilmington Harbor 403 Project
body
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Department: |
City Manager |
Meeting Date: |
2/3/2026 |
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Contact Name: |
Dennis LaCaria |
Public Hearing: |
No |
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Contact Phone: |
910-765-0206 |
Advertising Date/Advertised By: |
N/A |
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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) and the potential impacts on the cost-benefit analysis.
• Need for the evaluation to address potential costs associated with property impacts and the need for additional flood protection on both public and private property associated with the projected 2-inch increase in water levels.
• Need for the evaluation to adequately assess potential environmental impacts and mitigation of those impacts, including erosion of wetland transitions, introduction of additional salinity, and potential reductions in upstream freshwater flow associated with current or proposed interbasin transfers.
The natural environment surrounding the City is central to the community's values and identity, contributing to residents' quality of life, recreational opportunities, and cultural heritage.
Changes proposed in the Project may pose risks to sensitive shorelines, marsh platforms, and riverfront areas, potentially affecting natural buffers that help protect residences, public spaces, cultural resources, and community infrastructure. Additionally, these changes may pose risks to aquifers used for potable water, increase salt intrusion into groundwater and marshes, and disturb PFAS layers and coal ash sediments in the Cape Fear River.
On January 20, 2026, DCM announced that USACE, in coordination with the North Carolina State Ports Authority, had asked DCM to pause its review of the Corps’ Consistency Determination for the proposed Wilmington Harbor Federal Channel Deepening Project to allow time for the Corps to review and consider issues raised by the public.
While no information has been related to DCM determinations since the City of Wilmington submitted its original comments in December, the purpose of this resolution is to ask state and federal decision-makers to continue to review the Project to ensure that it is consistent with the State’s Coastal Management Plan, and to request the USACE to conduct additional evaluation in order to address the concerns raised in the DEIS more thoroughly.
budget
BUDGET IMPACT:
N/A
recommendation
RECOMMENDATION / ACTION REQUESTED:
Approval of this resolution is recommended.