AVALON – Avalon is moving closer to its goal of a townwide dredging permit that would be a unique arrangement between the municipality and the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) in that it’s not present elsewhere in the state.
The borough began the process by approving a feasibility study by Mott MacDonald in August 2021, which was on the heels of two emergency dredging projects. Several steps in the long process have since been completed.
If successful, the permit would allow dredging without the lengthy and expensive process of obtaining permits each time. It would also allow homeowners to use the expansive permit when they need their private slips dredged.
At the Aug. 9 Borough Council meeting, Business Administrator Scott Wahl told the council that Mott MacDonald was completing a sediment survey that should clear the way for the application for the boroughwide permit to move forward for consideration by the DEP and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
This is the “last and significant hurdle” the borough must complete before the formal submission of the permit application, Wahl said.
If all goes well, Wahl said, the process may be completed by the end of the year.
Borough Engineer Thomas Thornton did add the caution that “it is tough to predict how long the DEP may take to review the permit application.”
Contact the author, Vince Conti, at vconti@cmcherald.com.
