“Enough with the excuses.

”
May 4, 2020

Mr. Rickey D. James

Assistant Secretary
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
441 G Street NW
Washington, DC 20314-1000

Dear Assistant Secretary James,

SOS Saco Bay would like to thank you and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for your vital work assisting
in federal efforts to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic. As your other work continues as well, we are
writing in regard to a situation in which you have taken a personal interest, during your confirmation
hearing in 2018.
You agreed to work with U.S. Senator Angus King (I-ME) and get to a “fix” on the problem caused by the
Army Corps’ jetty built at Camp Ellis in Saco, Maine. We concur with your testimony to Senator King that
it has taken “way too long” to resolve this unfortunate situation. (Video: https://youtu.be/aNjgfdfKVjA)
At the prodding of Maine’s U.S. Congressional delegation, representatives of your agency participated in a
conference call on March 27th with our federal delegation and municipal leaders in Saco. SOS Saco Bay
asked to participate in the call, just to listen in, but Corps personnel denied that request.
After the call, a municipal official described it to us as “productive,” and indicative of “making great
progress.” That was encouraging. Nevertheless, it is now May 1, and an entire month has melted away. No
media outlet in Maine has reported what the next steps are, presumably because they don’t know. Nor is
SOS Saco Bay able to report to its members what the next steps are. We know that our municipal leaders,
our state legislators and our federal delegation are “on the case.” Had an action plan evolved after the
March 27th meeting, we would have seen it by now.
With respect, we suggest that Army Corps field personnel should share what the plan is for moving
forward. Not just with SOS Saco Bay, but especially with Maine’s newspapers and television stations.
Let’s call our direct exclusion from the March 27th phone call an anomaly. Going forward, however, we fail
to see the need for any secrecy. SOS Saco Bay has existed for many years. We know this issue well. We
are an advocacy organization, and our friends and neighbors are ingrained in the coastal communities of
Biddeford, Saco, Old Orchard Beach and Scarborough. They depend on us for information, so perhaps
keeping SOS Saco Bay fully informed should be a priority.
As you aptly noted, a Camp Ellis “fix” is long overdue. Congress appropriated $26.9 million for this way
back in 2006; those dollars buy less and less with every day that wastes away. We thank you for your
pledge to Senator King, and we look forward Army Corps’ action plan for moving this process along is
made public as soon as possible. Thank you for your time and consideration.
Respectfully,

Kevin Roche
Kevin Roche
President, SOS Saco Bay, Inc.
info@sososacobay.com