Representatives from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers discussed the future of dredging projects in Mathews during Tuesday’s meeting of the county board of supervisors.

With the total cost of all the dredging needs on the Middle Peninsula ranging from $550,000 to $4.9 million annually (with a median of $1.6 million), Corps engineer Mark Mansfield painted a gloomy picture of the possibilities of acquiring future federal or state funding for localities. He said that "federal funding is not going to come in the future. Period."

There’s little chance for state funding, as well, he said, adding that private interests and local governments would be the most likely entities to foot the bill to maintain navigation channels going forward.

Mansfield’s colleague Doug Stamper outlined a document developed for the Middle Peninsula Planning District Commission, the "Middle Peninsula Shallow Draft Navigation and Sediment Management Plan." It contains the r...