County commissioners say there is
some reason to be optimistic at getting the Eastpoint Channel dredged.
The channel hasn’t been dredged in over 20 years.
Its been a top local priority because the channel is so
filled in that larger boats like shrimp boats can’t use the channel to dock and
offload seafood.
Right now the channel is so shallow even oyster boats have a
hard time navigating it on low tides.
There have been two major hold-ups on the project, money and
a place to put the spoil once its dredged.
County planner Alan Pierce said the Florida Department of
Environmental Protection now seems ready to allow the spoil to be placed on the
Eastpoint breakwater.
Now the county just needs the money to pay for the job.
It’s likely the dredging will cost about a million and a
half dollars and the Army Corps of Engineers would pay for most of it through
their discretionary funding.
But getting on that list is contingent on having the right
permits and even then it could take a few years for the money to actually
become available.
Commission chairperson Pinki Jackel said she expects to get
a permit for the spoil disposal very soon – though the process could take as
long as six months.
There is also the possibility that the funding could come
through congress because the project was funded once before in 2004 but there
is a question as to where that money went.
The county says the Corps of Engineers spent it in New
Orleans after Hurricane Katrina – the Corps says the county asked that it be
used to dredge the Bob Sikes Cut.
Commissioner Pinki Jackel said our congressman is currently
trying to get to the bottom of the mystery.
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