Town Fined for Improper Dredging in Chesapeake
North Beach Also Seeks Aid After Storm
|
TOOLBOX
   Resize
COMMENT
 Discussion Policy
 CLOSE
Comments that include profanity or personal attacks or other inappropriate comments or material will be removed from the site. Additionally, entries that are unsigned or contain "signatures" by someone other than the actual author will be removed. Finally, we will take steps to block users who violate any of our posting standards, terms of use or privacy policies or any other policies governing this site. Please review the full rules governing commentaries and discussions. You are fully responsible for the content that you post.
Who's Blogging  |
Sunday, August 30, 2009
North Beach officials recently paid $13,000 in state fines for illegal beach replenishment activities and are looking at ways to replace sand lost after last weekend's storm.
The town, on the Chesapeake Bay in Calvert County, was fined for "unauthorized dredging and changing the bottom elevation" of the Chesapeake Bay during a beach replenishment project in March, said Jay Apperson, a spokesman for the Maryland Department of the Environment.
The town settled with the state Aug. 17.
Five days later, heavy rain caused flooding and carried about 20 percent of the shore between the pier and the north end of the public beach out to sea, said John Hoffman, town engineer.
Hoffman said he had spoken to state officials about getting an emergency permit to dredge sand back to shore. He said the town was also considering trucking in sand.
"It would be nice to take care of the beach before we get the big crowds on Labor Day weekend," Mayor Michael Bojokles said. "It will affect the businesses, but we need some action from MDE."
The town contracted in March with Dissen & Juhn of Stevensville, which specializes in marine construction, for nearly $26,000 for its yearly beach replenishment work. About 30 hours into the project, in which sand is pulled from the bay onto the public beach area, work was stopped because of a complaint logged with the Department of the Environment.
During an investigation by the state attorney general, the department found that the town had not received a permit for the yearly work since 2002. Such permits can cost up to $1,000 and generally last three years. The town has been waiting for its regular permit from the state for more than two years, Bojokles said. The emergency permit would be a separate request, Apperson said.
The sand that was pulled from the bay in March was spread around a wooden pavilion on the beach. By April, most of it had washed back into the bay.
