KINGSTON — Port of Kingston officials have declared a state of emergency for their marina, asking the powers-that-be to ease their path in obtaining dredging permits.

The port completed an engineering survey, which measured the current depth of Appletree Cove and compared it to the cove’s depth after its initial dredge in 1966, Port Manager Kori Henry said. The port also completed an eelgrass survey and is conducting soil sampling.

The port is under a timeline, hence the emergency: silt has been steadily piling up since the marina was originally dredged, and became worse when the Kingston Road bridge was completed in the spring, opening up the Carpenter Creek estuary to its natural flow into the cove. The effect of the opened estuary into Appletree Cove pressured the need for a dredge but did not cause it, Henry said.

“We’ll lose the marina if we don’t do something quickly,” Henry said.

The area to be dredged customarily measures 10 feet at zero tide, Port Commissioner Pete DeBoer said. Now, “sometimes at zero tide, there’s no depth.” In the last few months, more than six boats have grounded at low tide, including a few Suquamish Tribe fishing boats.

The port applied for dredging permits in 2002, but was denied. If approved this time, Henry said the port is shooting for January for the dredge, before salmon and other fish species come home to spawn in February and closing the opportunity for several months.

She presented the progress so far to Port of Kingston commissioners at their regular monthly meeting Sept. 26.

DeBoer said time is of the essence: If permits are obtained by the end of the year, then the contract bidding process begins. Dredging should take up to two weeks — that’s getting close to spawning season for salmon and other fish species. Any delay in permitting and bidding, and dredging has to wait until July, he said.

Several government agencies play a role in permitting: the port must obtain a county shoreline exemption permit, Army Corps of Engineers Nationwide Permit 10, Department of Fish and Wildlife hydraulic permit, and Department of Ecology sedimentation/water quality permit. The county and the Corps of Engineers permits are up in the air, pending environmental studies, Henry said.

The Corps of Engineers had not received a dredging application as of Sept. 26, but spokesman Bill Dowell said in a previous interview that officials have been in communication with the port.

“[The dredge site] appears to fit the condition of a nationwide permit, to cover a maintenance dredge of the marina base,” Dowell said.

Dredging involves excavation of shallow water areas to gather and dispose of sediment accumulated on the bottom, to keep waterways navigable. It is a delicate process, as the excavation that stirs the water can increase turbidity, or cloudiness, which can affect the spawning of aquatic species.

The dredging project is expected to cost about $500,000, DeBoer said. Henry is looking for grants and other outside sources of funding, but, DeBoer said, “So far, we’re on the hook for it.”

What can marina users expect during the dredging project?

“There will be a big barge there, and a shovel digging stuff out,” DeBoer said. “It’s going to get congested for a while. We may have to relocate boats from A and B docks to the guest dock for a couple of days. But if it’s in February, it’s not going to bother too many people.”