The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has awarded nearly $1 million to a New York company to begin dredging the navigation channel in Point Judith Harbor. As it did two years ago when it dredged another part of the harbor, the corps is planning to dispose of the sediments off Matunuck to help replenish its beaches.

This time, the dredging work will largely stay clear of the commercial fishermen’s piers. Two years ago, dredging near the piers brought up refuse ranging from oil filters to rubber boots, much of which ended up on the Matunuck beaches and touched off a furor.

The time, the dredge will focus on the outer harbor and along the breakwater, according to Mike Walsh, project manager for the corps. The dredging began last week.

“It was a real nuisance last time, but we hope that won’t happen again,” Walsh said. “The material in the channel is good quality sand.”

The corps has also awarded an $837,000 contract to dredge the channel at Bullocks Point Cove in Barrington and East Providence.

Both contracts went to Village Dock Inc. of Port Jefferson, N.Y.

The Point Judith project is expected to take about two months.

It involves dredging the 15-foot-deep entrance channel and the west branch channel to the Point Judith Harbor of Refuge. About 32,000 cubic yards of sand will be removed by a mechanical dredge and taken by scows to the waters off Matunuck.

Walsh said the Block Island ferries will be able to keep their schedules even as the dredge works in the channel.

The Bullocks Point work is scheduled to begin Dec. 1 and also take about two months to complete.

Plans call for dredging 60,000 cubic yards of silt and clay from the 8-foot-deep entrance channel, the 6-foot inner channel, the 6-foot turning basin and the 6-foot anchorage area.

All of the dredged materials will be disposed of in the special Confined Aquatic Disposal cells dug in the bottom of the Providence River when the river was dredged several years ago, according to project manager Bill Kavanaugh. The cells allow for burying contaminated dredge materials and minimizing their exposure to marinelife.

The dredging must be completed by Jan. 31. The original federal navigation project in the cove was completed in 1959.

Two other dredging projects have been proposed to the corps, but not yet approved.

In Westerly, the Margin Street Marina wants to construct a 25-slip marina in the Pawcatuck River at 71 Margin St. It wants to dredge 5,150 cubic yards of material from a 1-acre area and dispose of the spoils on land. It also wants to build a 142-foot stone bulkhead. The corps has made a preliminary determination that the work will impact nearly an acre of essential fish habitat, but the impact would not be substantial. More information can be found at www.nae.usace.army.mil.

In Narragansett, the Bonnet Shores Fire District wants to dredge 1,000 cubic yards of material in front of its boat ramp on John Gardner Road. Shoaling has left the ramp unusable at low tide, according to the fire district and it is the only boat ramp in the area. Dredge material will be used for beach nourishment. About 1,602 square feet of eelgrass will be displaced by dredging, but to compensate an area twice that size will be planted nearby.

plord@projo.com