Following several months of discussions with representatives of permitting agencies, including the N.J. Department of Environmental Protection administration, the state Green Acres program and the Division of Land Use Regulation and Coastal Regulation, the city has decided it is prudent to move forward with its north-end pump station project with the outfall located at Sixth Street, where it was originally proposed.
Based on feedback from neighbors, the city spent six months trying to get permission to move the outfall pipes to the Bayside Center, including discussions with Cape May County, owner of that property.
“Although not completely impossible, this change would have added significant time and expense to the project, and would have been a long uphill battle with no guarantee of approval,” Ocean City Business Administrator Jim Mallon said.
“All of our government partners in this project acted professionally, understood the public’s concerns, and were open to the request to consider the Bayside Center, while honestly portraying the requirements facing the city. Ultimately, we decided that, along with facing time restrictions related to the permitting and the grant requirements, the residents of this entire neighborhood have waited long enough for this project to move forward. If the neighborhood wants to see relief any time in the foreseeable future, the city will have to stick to the initial plan.”
The plan calls for a new stormwater pumping station near Sixth Street and Bay Avenue to improve drainage from 1st Street to 8th Street from Asbury Avenue to the bay. The estimated $8.7 million project will use a $5 million FEMA grant, the largest Ocean City has ever received.
The project remains on the schedule outlined at a public meeting in November 2015. Pending final permits and successful bid submissions, construction could begin in late 2016.
