It might be smooth sailing at last for boats travelling into the Mamquam Blind Channel. While more than 20 years of build-up of silt has left the channel impassible outside of high tide, the dream to see it dredged is beginning to materialize with hopes to begin work this fall. In May, a Vancouver company Fraser River Pile and Dredge won a bid from the District of Squamish to handle the permit phase of the dredging. They are currently striving to get approvals for the project from a number of organizations including the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) and Squamish Estuary Review Committee."We're in the testing phase which means sampling the dredging areas. Those samples get forwarded to the proper testing agencies," said Squamish Harbour Authority director Keith Stinson, who said testing would look at levels of chemicals such as mercury.Mayor Ian Sutherland made it clear the project is not yet a done deal."I think progress is being made," he said. "Our concern at the moment is timing because of the small window available to do the work. We'll keep working with the approval agencies to make sure this time frame is considered."There is only a short period when DFO can approve dredging each year to avoid harming fish species. In the fall season, that period falls between Sept. 15 and Oct. 1. To fit in this time frame, Stinson said he would like to see the permits secured by the middle of August."It's going to be a dry port if we don't do something soon," he said. "You can walk right across the navigable channel at low tide."He said he is optimistic the permits will come through. But even with those in place, the district would face another challenge: finding about $1 million to complete the work.Last fall, local MP Blair Wilson held a roundtable with stakeholders to develop a funding strategy for the project, which involved developers purchasing dredge spoils for their own construction purposes. Under the proposed plan, the provincial government would also help by lifting its dredging tax.
