AVALON — As the borough faces the future of a full dredge material disposal site upon completion of its next dredging project, a move is being made toward transforming the cur-rent site at Macchia’s Island, into a reusable, confined disposal facility.
Macchia’s Island is a small portion of borough owned land located between Avalon and Middle Township.
Borough Engineer Thomas Thornton of Hatch Mott McDonald told the Herald the new facility would be reconfigured from the existing site to two cells and a permanent gravel road leading from Avalon Boulevard. The road addition would allow trucks to remove dry dredge materials.
Thornton said pending testing of dredge materials, the used sediment could be placed along the side of the new road or along Avalon Boulevard for a turtle-nesting project in con-junction with the Wetlands Institute Terrapin Conservation Program.
“Turtles could serve as a beneficial users of this material,” Thornton said.
He said in order to incorporate turtle nesting in the new facility plan; chemical testing of materials must first be completed.
“Dredging material is silted material, not always a desirable material,” he said.
Thornton and borough Administrator Andrew Bednarek met with the state Department of Environmental Protection and the Army Corp of Engineers in a pre-application meeting Sept. 12. A representative from the Wetlands institute was also in attendance to describe the possibility for turtle nesting.
The borough presently has a multi-year dredging project in place. A project this fall will fill the current site to capacity.
Thornton said the borough could make application for the new reusable site in early 2008.
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