AVALON – On the heels of two emergency dredging projects, in Princeton and Pennsylvania harbors, Avalon unveiled plans to obtain a borough-wide dredging permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (ACE) and the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP).
If successful, the permits would allow dredging without initiating the lengthy process of obtaining permits each time.
In explaining the proposed effort to borough council, Administrator Scott Wahl said an added benefit would be the fact that the permits would allow property owners to “jump on board” when they needed their private slips dredged.
The borough has already met with a DEP-approved turf farm operator with the capacity to receive and store the dredge spoils. A location for the dredge material is a basic requirement for any dredging project.
Council discussed a preliminary step to test the plan’s feasibility for a borough-wide permit. Borough engineering firm Mott MacDonald will begin the required survey and mapping of the public waterways. Borough Engineer Thomas Thornton will then seek a joint permit process meeting with both federal and state representatives. At that point, the results will allow the borough to make decisions on the project’s viability.
