SACO, Maine — U.S. Sen. Susan Collins (R) joined local, state and federal officials in Saco Tuesday to mark the official start of construction on the Camp Ellis Shore Damage Mitigation Project, a long-awaited effort aimed at reducing shoreline erosion and storm damage in one of Maine’s most vulnerable coastal neighborhoods.
The event included remarks from Saco Mayor Jodi MacPhail, U.S. Sen. Angus King (I), Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works Adam Telle, and Col. Justin Pabis, commander of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ New England District.
Collins, who serves as chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, secured $23 million last year to support construction of the project, which includes a 750-foot spur jetty and sand replenishment at Camp Ellis. She also secured $750,000 in 2024 to help fund the project’s design, after previously championing a provision in the 2022 Water Resources Development Act that authorized $45 million for a permanent solution to the severe and ongoing erosion at Camp Ellis.
“What a great day for Camp Ellis and the City of Saco. They say that good things come to those who wait. Well, that may be true, but I would say that the vital project we launch today proves that good things come to those who join together in a common cause and who persevere,” Collins said during her remarks.
“Throughout this long ordeal, the people of Camp Ellis and nearby communities banded as informed and determined advocates. By decreasing the wave energy reaching Camp Ellis Beach and reducing the loss of sediment from the shoreline, this project will help protect property and restore the beachfront. To call this a long-awaited moment misses the mark. This is a long-championed victory, won by a resolute community that refused to give up,” she said.
The Camp Ellis jetty was built by the federal government more than 150 years ago, long before the erosional impacts of shoreline structures were widely understood. While the jetty served navigational needs, it also contributed to decades of serious erosion and property damage along the Saco shoreline.
Over the last century, 38 homes have washed into the sea, the shoreline has receded by approximately 400 feet, and roads have been lost.
The project now underway is designed to reduce wave energy generated by the existing north jetty and lessen shoreline erosion at Camp Ellis, offering residents and property owners a measure of protection after generations of damage and uncertainty.
For Camp Ellis residents, Tuesday’s construction launch marked more than the beginning of a federal infrastructure project. It represented the culmination of years of advocacy from a coastal community that has watched the sea steadily claim homes, roads and beachfront and refused to stop pressing for a solution.
And people honestly think that Maine would be better off with Mein Oyster Fuher?
Meanwhile Platner stopped at a porta potty he spied in a parking lot in Brunswick .
He face was redder than normal , and his shirt was untucked , when he exited the unit .
Ya, we only waited thirty years commie Sue! Thanks a lot.
Govt is not your friend!
Billionaires are not your friend.
Trump cheated on his beautiful Slovakian wife with an ugly porn actress.
Dr Ed is concerned that he’ll have to sign in to online porn. Seriously!!?
Louisewood seems to think the ports potty rant makes sense. It doesn’t.
Fact is Susan is a rino. Susan Collins ranks in the 24th percentile among conservatives in a heritage foundation ranking.
Anyone that votes for Collins again is a POS.
Pay him no mind Dr Ed .
Leonard is the kid that nobody liked and used to get picked on at recess .
His mom bought him a keyboard so he could stay in his room after school and now he picks fights on conservative news sites .
Anyone who truly believes that Susan Collins is a communist is a fool .
Anyone who posts under multiple different names is a troll .
Lenny the Leo is just another foolish troll having fun at home in his little bedroom .