Ocean City Boaters Organize in Push for Dredging

More than 120 people showed up Saturday morning in a show of solidarity in the fight to find a sustainable plan to dredge Ocean City's shallow lagoons and channels.

Second Ward City Councilman Antwan McClellan, At-Large Councilman Keith Hartzell and City Council President Michael Allegretto organized the 10 a.m. community meeting at the Eighth Street Recreation Center to come up with a strategy to push for regulatory relief at the state and federal levels.

Much of Ocean City's bayfront is impassable at low tide. Joel Richard, owner of Ocean City Parasailing at Third Street and Bay Avenue, said on Saturday morning that his company can operate only between mid- and high tides. It's a fate shared by all other boaters who navigate waters on Ocean City's bayside.

Ocean City Engineering Manager Roger Rinck, who has dealt with local dredging issues for three decades, said the city is very aware of the problem. 

"Dredging is the most difficult thing we do," Rinck said.

A sea of regulations stand in the way of a lot of potential solutions, he said.

Mayor Jay Gillian said the city remains committed to funding dredging operations for the entire back bay. But the primary obstacle remains finding a place to dump dredged materials (or "spoils").

A "confined disposal facility" (CDF) near 34th Street is almost full. The state created a spoils site near the new Ninth Street Bridge that would allow trucks to haul away material, but the city can't find a place where they'd be permitted to dump the trucked material, which would have a high salt content that could affect freshwater aquifers. Other solutions such as pumping dredged material to the beaches that need sand have been prohibited because of the incompatibility of grain sizes.

State Senator Jeff Van Drew suggested the group form a small association to act as a liaison between the community and the government regulators. He suggested working with state Department of Environmental Protection staff to develop a viable strategy. Then he promised to help remove whatever regulatory or legislative obstacles might exist.

"I may not be the smartest guy in the world, but I'm a relentless guy," Van Drew said. "I promise we'll get the commissioner (state DEP Commissioner Bob Martin) involved."

Hartzell said would work to form similar groups in other shore towns up and down the coast.

In the first step toward creating a local association, Hartzell helped identify representatives from each condominium association and bayfront neighborhood. He tasked these citizens with helping to find an association representative (if they didn't want to do it themselves).

Meeting attendees also signed letters to the governor and other officials. The letter read:

The bayfront and lagoons in Ocean City are in desperate need of dredging to remain navigable. While these conditions have been developing for years, Superstorm Sandy has made the situation even worse. Dredging require the cost efficient disposal or recycling of the excavated material. All available Confined Disposal Facilities are currently filled to capacity.

I am requesting that your office assist the City of Ocean City in developing a practical and sustainable program to dredge these local waters

I thank you for your assistance.