Nix Dredge Soils from Middle Twp. Gravel Pits

To the Editor: 
A plan afoot to utilize a Middle Township gravel pit as a dumping site for Ocean City’s dredge soils should be rejected by Middle Township Committee.
Cape Mining and Recycling LLC, located off Goshen Road and closely surrounded by several residential neighborhoods, seeks a permit to haul 600,000 cubic yards of dredge soils over Middle Township’s roads to be stored in a 35-foot mound, over several acres of their gravel pit property.
Cape Mining’s consultants estimated that an average of 75 heavy dump truck trips per day, for approximately three months, would be required to move the often wet and sloppy soils. The planned route would have these trucks making the dangerous left-hand turn off Court House South Dennis Road, onto Magnolia Drive, right through the heart of Court House. These trucks would punish our roads and leave a mucky mess in their wake.
Just a year ago, a similar operation at Cape Mining’s Lower Township pit was shut down by the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). After months of complaints by the gravel pit’s neighbors, an inspection of the site (according to DEP records) showed that the “approved footprint of the dredged materials was exceeded by about 3.9 acres, the 35-foot height limit exceeded in multiple locations, blending of the material was taking place in unapproved parts of the property and bi-annual reports to the state were not submitted,” according to a Press of Atlantic City article published March 14, 2017.
Much of the soils stored at the Lower Township site were trucked through parts of Middle Township, causing long-term damage to our roads and precipitating constant complaints to Middle and Lower Township Public Works Departments.
According to Middle Township’s Gravel Pit Ordinance Chapter 132-1, licenses are issued for “…excavating, digging or mining of sand, earth, soil or mineral products…” Gravel pits were never envisioned by the township to be long-term storage sites for other communities’ waste.
While the permit applicant states that the soils will eventually be re-purposed, sold and shipped from the site, there are currently few viable, commercial uses for these dredge soils. None of the soils have left the Lower Township site in the past year.
Granting this permit would set a bad precedent for Middle Township. As the county’s largest community, with several dormant gravel pits on our landscape, this permit could open the door to our hometown becoming the dumping ground for dredge soils from all of our neighboring beach towns.
Years ago, Middle Township was the dumping ground for many of the barrier islands’ garbage. Our town is still suffering from the long-term damage of that dumping. We should learn a hard lesson from that history.
While the township might be tempted to grab the money that would be paid in dumping fees, this would be shortsighted and detrimental to our quality of life. To preserve our environment, our roads, and our property values, I urge Township Committee to reject this permit application.
ED. NOTE: Gandy is the Republican candidate for Middle Township Committee.