LAPUSH — U.S. Rep Derek Kilmer is asking the Army Corps of Engineers to complete a stalled dredging project at Quillayute Harbor and to hold the contractor accountable for the delay.
The project manager for the contractor, however, said the dredging was delayed because of bad weather, high river flows, log jams and man-made debris that was not disclosed in the federal contract.
Quileute tribal officials are backing the effort by the 6th District congressman, whose district includes the North Olympic Peninsula.
“We’d like to thank Rep. Kilmer for his support in trying to bring a reasonable resolution to this ongoing issue,” tribal Chairman Chas Woodruff said in a statement.
Dredging of the harbor at LaPush is needed to maintain the tribe’s economically vital fishing fleet and the U.S. Coast Guard Station Quillayute River, the only search-and-rescue station along 100 miles of coastline.
$1.47 million project
The Army Corps Seattle District is overseeing a $1.47 million project to remove 79,000 cubic yards of sediment from the inner channel, outer channel and boat basin, which supports a $4 million-per-year fishing industry.
“It is now clear that, due to poor performance, the federal contractor will be unable to complete the work before the end of the designated work window,” Kilmer said in a Monday letter to Assistant Secretary of the Army (Civil Works) Jo-Ellen Darcy.
“I strongly urge you to take action to ensure that taxpayer dollars are recovered to the greatest extent possible and that the federal contractor is held accountable for the failure to complete this critical project in a timely fashion.”
Corps spokeswoman Patricia Graesser said the Seattle District would respond to Kilmer’s letter with updated information this week.
Quillayute Harbor was last dredged in 2011.
It was due to be dredged again in 2013, but the work was delayed when Congress failed to pass a spending bill.
Last February, Kilmer urged the Corps to prioritize funding for the project and announced in March that the dredging would take place in the fall.
A $1.29 million maintenance dredging contract was awarded to Marine Industrial Construction of Wilsonville, Ore., on Sept. 12. Hydraulic dredging commenced in November, Graesser said.
“As someone with 24 years’ dredging experience, I expressed early on to the Army Corps of Engineers that we would face an uncertain outcome under the direction of the chosen contractor due to the equipment selection outlined in his proposal,” Woodruff said.
Poor performance report
After repeated reports of poor performance, the Army Corps Seattle District increased its direct oversight of the project, Kilmer said.
“Despite these efforts, limited progress was made throughout the winter and on Jan. 13 the Corps issued a contractor ‘cure’ notice to the contractor and its associated bonding company,” Kilmer wrote.
“Since then, the poor performance of the contractor has continued and it is clear that the boat basin, the inner channel, and the entrance channel are not anywhere close to completion.”
Under the contact, dredging stopped Saturday, and the equipment must be removed by Thursday, Graesser said.
The project is expected to be rebid this year.
“To date, the contractor has dredged a fraction of the expected dredged volume for the entire project, based on Corps surveys,” Graesser said in a Thursday statement.
“As part of the path forward, the Seattle District staff is developing plans, specifications, and environmental coordination for a potential new contract action, with the goal of completing dredging this fall.”
Michael Harrison, Marine Industrial Construction project manager, said the company was misled about the extent of the wreckage under the boat basin.
“The bottom line is the condition presented in the contract documents is not representative of what was up there,” Harrison said Friday.
Harrison provided dredge specifications, a project timeline and log, correspondence with the Army Corps and photographs showing copious amounts of artificial debris pulled from the bottom of the harbor that can’t be pumped, including sunken vessels, tires and fishing nets.
A Marine Industrial Construction dredge had an electrical failure Feb. 18 because a line was cut on undisclosed wreckage in the marina, Harrison said.
In his letter, Kilmer urged the Corps to “explore every avenue available” to recover taxpayer funds.
“Furthermore, I urge the Corps to take action to hold the individual contractor accountable,” Kilmer said.
The Corps’ navigation staff has been making weekly site visits to Quillayute Harbor, Graesser said.
Chief of Navigation John Hicks was on site Thursday, she said.
Hicks said the only payment made to the contractor was 80 percent of the mobilization costs.
That amounts to about $400,000, Harrison said.
Company costs
Marine Industrial Construction spent about $1.1 million on the project, including $180,000 for a larger pump and $30,000 to make it operational, Harrison said.
Marine Industrial Construction completed a successful dredging project at Port Orford, Ore., last year and has contracted with the ports of Portland, Ore., and Vancouver, Wash., in past dredging operations, Harrison said.
“The congressman made it sound like we’ve been paid a lot of money and are taking advantage of the system,” Harrison said.
“That’s not the case. We’re over double on the cost we’ve incurred on that job. We’ve done nothing but try to make that project successful.
“For him to insinuate that we tried to milk the system and take advantage of it is completely wrong and disrespectful.”
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5072, or at rollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.
