Town of Southern Shores Canal Dredging Project
Update 11/4/08
John Leidy, Attorney, reported a trial date has been set for January 5, 2009 and the Town received a letter from the Division of Water Quality withdrawing their objections to the Town's water quality certification and waiving that requirement. He stated he is working on setting up a mediation meeting and he will discuss further with Council in closed session in order to preserve attorney/client privilege. He stated he will continue to contest the denial made by the Division of Coastal Management.
Update 10/07/08
The Town Attorneys have reported at this time they are still waiting for hearing dates and a letter from DWQ withdrawing their objections. They are also working on alternate spoil disposal sites. Southern Shores Town Council and Staff are committed to do everything it can to get the canals dredged.
Update 8/5/08
The Town Attorneys have reported the following developments with the canal dredging project:
• The Office of Administrative Hearings has scheduled both the CAMA and the DWQ cases to be heard during the week of September 15, 2008.
• The scheduling of a multi party settlement conference has been discussed with Senator Basnight's office. To date, no agreement has been reached with regard to dates or format.
• A mediated settlement conference will probably be conducted by the end of the month. It remains to be seen whether the settlement conference will take the form of multi party talks with various agencies or a standard mediated settlement conference where the Town will negotiate directly with each of the two respondent agencies.
Update 5/8/08
The Town Attorneys have reported the following developments with the canal dredging project:
• The Petition for a Contested Case Hearing, has been filed.
• Our Attorneys have received confirmation from the Office of Administrative Hearings that the CAMA appeal has been docketed and the case is tentatively scheduled for trial during the week of July 21, 2008 in Elizabeth City . That date poses some conflict and will probably be rescheduled.
• The Town is required to have a mediation – which is a formal settlement conference facilitated by a neutral third party (“the mediator”) by June 18, 2008.
• The appeal of the Division of Water Quality Decision was filed on March 12. No scheduling information has been received yet. However, it is expected that the cases will be consolidated by the Office of Administrative Hearings and, if not, the parties will probably need to agree on consolidation.
The Town has received confirmation that grant moneys maybe used for attorney fees related to the Canal Project as we pursue this appeal.
Update 3/3/08
Two State agencies under the North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources have denied the Town of Southern Shores permission to move ahead with its canal dredging project. The Division of Water Quality entered its decision on January 14, 2008, and the Division of Coastal Management rendered its decision on February 15, 2008.
According to George Wood, an environmental consultant engaged by the Town to assist with the project, the denials have potentially wide ranging impact for the coastal counties in North Carolina , and should be challenged.
In addition to the regional impact of these decisions, the Town could be greatly harmed by these decisions. The canal dredging project is necessary in order to ensure the viability and navigability of the canal system running throughout the Town.
As discussed at the Town's February 26, 2008 meeting, the Town is committed to moving forward with the project. The Town's attorneys, John Leidy and Ben Gallop of the Hornthal, Riley, Ellis & Maland firm, are currently studying the legal options available to the Town. These options include an appeal and hearing before an administrative law judge and a request for a variance, which would be submitted to and decided by the Coastal Resources Commission. The Town's attorneys do not expect these processes to be complete until the end of 2008. Additional appeals to a local superior court and appellate court are possible, depending on the outcomes in these administrative proceedings. As a result, the dredging project is unlikely to proceed until 2009, at the earliest.
Update 1/31/08
As expected, the Town's canal dredging permit has been denied. The Town is currently embarking on the Variance process through the CRC in order to obtain the CAMA Major Permit for Phase 1. This should take about 60 days and we have been advised that we should expect to be granted a variance. The bid opening has been scheduled for February 20. We are also researching possible alternative Spoils Sites.
Update 1/16/08
Pre-bid conference for the dredging project was held Monday, January 7, 9 AM in the Pitts Center. Bid Opening will be Wednesday, February 20, 10 AM, in the Pitts Center. Town is still waiting for approval on the permit.
Update 10/25/07
The Town has the letter from CAMA accepting our permit application. The projected deadline for making a decision on approval of permit is January 5, 2008. However there is an additional 75-day review period provided by law when such time is necessary to complete the review. Quible & Associates the Town Engineering firm is proceeding with bid document preparation and are anticipating holding a formal "Invitation to Bidders" sometime in November.
Update 8/14/07
The Town submitted an application, August 10, 2007 for a CAMA major permit to dredge phase I (map) of the Town owned canals. Application was developed by Environmental Professionals, Inc.
The dredge material will be placed on private Hillcrest property owner's yards. The Chicahauk Site considered for condemnation by the Town is not being considered at this time in the CAMA Major Permit Application.
Canal Dredging History
Powerpoint Show & Canal Dredging Report
In June of 2004 the Southern Shores Civic Association (SSCA) and the Chicahauk Property Owners Association (CPOA) voted to deed the canal bottoms to the Town of Southern Shores for the expressed purpose of dredging the 7.2 miles of canals.
The Town of Southern Shores hired Environmental Professionals, Inc. as a consultant to help the Town identify a dredge disposal site and apply for necessary state permits.
On August 2, 2005 the Town Council voted to proceed with the dredging of the canals. In November 2005 a public information meeting was held concerning the project and numerous newsletters and email were sent to citizens and property owners about the proposed project.
On September 26, 2006 the Town conducted a public meeting workshop on the canal dredging project. John Sutherland with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Division of Water Resource, briefed Council on other similar dredge projects locally and in other parts of the State. George Wood with Environmental Professionals Inc. also discussed the permitting process and gave a report on the soil sampling of the material from the canals.
Since 2004 a number of potential sites (e.g. CPOA common space, SSCA properties, a Hillcrest site, Duck Woods Country Club and numerous remote sites outside of Dare County ) and various dredging techniques (e.g. hydraulic and mechanical) have been explored by the Town.
The Town estimates that approximately 137,000 cubic yards of material needs to be removed from the canal system to achieve a normal six foot depth in the canals. Based on information received from our consultants the Town estimates the project would cost about $2,000,000.
In May 2006 the Town met with our legislative leaders in Raleigh and requested financial assistance to fund this undertaking. The adopted 2006-07 state budget allotted $800,000 to the Town of Southern Shores to be matched by $200,000 in Town funds for the dredging project. The Town expects the state to allot an additional $800,000 in the 2007-08 budget to be matched by an additional $200,000 in local dollars this year.
The CPOA site has been identified as the best overall site to place the material for short term use or possible long term use. If the Town used a mechanical dredge and hauled the material to a remote site the costs of the project could rise by more than $800,000 for hauling costs alone, not to mention the degradation to our town and streets.
At the Town Council meeting February 6, 2007, Council approved Resolution 2007-02-01 Authorizing the Acquisition of Property to acquire a portion of the CPOA open area to place the canal dredging material.
June 2007 The Town of Southern Shores began making application for a CAMA major permit to dredge approximately seven (7) miles of Town owned canals. Application is being developed by Environmental Professionals, Inc. Adjacent property owners to the canals are requested by CAMA to sign statements of no objection. The project has been divided into phases and is planned for completion in two (2) years. Go to map to see where first phase is.
The Town is looking at the following as possible sites for dredge material for both hydraulic & mechanical dredging.
- The Hillcrest site will consists of leases with several private property owners to allow dredge material to placed for dewatering.
- SSCA property at the corner of US 158 and Duck Woods Drive
- Albemarle Hospital property at the corner of US 158 and Juniper Trail.
The Chicahauk Site considered for condemnation by the Town is not being considered at this time in the CAMA Major Permit Application.
Discussions are continuing with Frank, Jim & Mike Stone about the possible use of their private property for hydraulic dredging in Phase II instead of, or in addition to, the two Landing Zones due to the added cost of hauling wet spoil material off site.
The canals have not been dredged in over 40 years. Many of these canals are now extremely shallow. If they continue to fill in, the Town will lose one of our most valuable resources. Now is the best time and our best opportunity to dredge. We cannot afford to lose this opportunity.
Please e-mail, telephone or fax us with your questions and comments on Town matters. The Town Hall Office is open Monday - Friday 8:30 A.M. - 5:00 P.M. We are always happy to hear from you and try to respond to questions promptly .
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