Shallow water at low tide on the bay near West 17th Street in Ocean City. Credit: George Robinson
Among the City of Ocean City's biggest challenges: moving sand.
Moving sand onto beaches where it's needed and out of boating channels where it's not.
Unfortunately, state regulators prohibit moving dredged material from one place to the other (it doesn't match, they say). So the city continues a desperate search for a place to dump the mud and sand that clogs up bayside lagoons.
Hundreds of boat owners are unable to navigate their backyard waters at low tide, and while the city has committed money to dredging projects, they're on hold while the city looks for an approved place to dump the spoils.
Mayor Jay Gillian's administration offered the following update to the hundreds of boat and bayfront property owners who signed up to receive information on the continuing effort.
Proposals range from trucking away dredge spoils to using them to elevate a soggy executive golf course in Ocean City.
BAY / LAGOON DREDGING UPDATE
FEBRUARY 27, 2014
The Administration continues to work with a sub-committee of City Council on bay and lagoon dredging. A viable disposal method for the spoils remains one of the biggest challenges we face. Several things are in process on parallel paths:
- We have filed a permit application to enlarge the undersized Route 52 Confined Disposal Facility (CDF) which could allow us to complete the unfinished work from the last contract plus dredge Snug Harbor. This CDF is accessible by both trucks and barges and therefore would be easier to empty in the future to create additional capacity.
- In October Mayor Gillian, along with Mayor Martin Pagliughi of Avalon and Cape May County Freeholder Marie Hayes hosted a meeting for representatives of all communities in Cape May County to discuss dredging. NJDEP officials were also in attendance. Information shared at this meeting, and compiled since then, is being forwarded to the NJDEP and Army Corps in preparation for an upcoming meeting in Trenton to explore solutions.
- We are exploring the acquisition of one or more properties in other communities that could be used as disposal sites.
- We have filed for two grants to fund a pilot project to use dredge spoils to stabilize and create wetlands. This is being done in other states and is working. It has never been permitted or done in New Jersey and we would like to be the first.
- We are exploring all viable ways to empty Site 83 and create capacity for new spoils.
- We continue to have good dialog with the permitting agencies at the state and federal levels. We are hopeful this will lead to their favorable consideration of some new ideas, including disposal methods that they have rejected in the past.
- We are closely monitoring a project currently underway in Avalon where they are removing materials from a CDF and hauling it to sand mine in the lower portion of the county.
- We have discussed with the subcommittee and others exploring the use of one of our largest parcels of land – our golf course. Our golf course is an asset, but is underutilized because of poor drainage. We believe we could use dredge spoils, combined with other materials, to raise the course and make it drain properly. This has been done in New Jersey. This would close the course for a lengthy period of time but result in an even bigger asset: a quality nine hole executive course that does not have 100 unplayable days a year due to flooding. There are a number of permitting and logistical issues to explore further to make this a reality.
- We continue to strive to increase public awareness of the negative economic impact of being unable to dredge our bay and lagoon areas.
