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Norwalk: To Dredge Or Not to Dredge


by turfgrrl


October 17th, 2007 · 13 Comments

The Hour ran an editorial, readers want action and I opened this thread.

Optimists in the city had hoped the second phase of the decade-long effort would begin this month.

At issue is the need for the city to ante up to $10 million in state aid to move the project along.

The trouble is there is uncertainty in what federal aid will be available to the state and what state help, in turn, will be available to the city.
We are witnessing a classic example of bureaucratic red tape and lack of communication among agencies involved.

Add to that a citizens’ group muddying the waters (pardon the pun) by challenging Norwalk’s plan to cap dredged material once it is dumped in a Long Island Sound disposal area.

The alternative — disposing the dredged material on dry land — really is no alternative at all, according to Harbormaster Michael Griffin, who says the cost would be a hundred times more expensive.

We have defended this project over and over again. This is not just a porcine project to benefit yacht owners as was the dredging of Southport Harbor.

Comments Ahoy!

Tags: In the News · Norwalk

13 Responses so far ↓ “Norwalk: To Dredge Or Not to Dredge”



  • 1 Mr Greenpeace // Oct 17, 2007 at 11:47 am

    Did anyone read the article by Tim Stelloh from the Advocate on the sediment that comes out of the river and U.S. Sen Charles Schumer calling for teh EPA to ensure Norwalk does the right thing?

    Takes someone outside the city, outside the state to ensure the right thing gets done with disposal,,yet the only thing the city and state have to say is the Army Corps of engineers say,,well they have been wrong before and in the eye of the controversy is polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons is whats in the harbor.

    http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/tfacts69.html

    If anyone could find the Advocates article it was very factual on the sediment in question.

    bear in mind the same reporter Tim Stelloh has been writing about the power plant as well replacing lines that are leaking transmission fluids into the sound, I trust when the harbor see’s dredging its after all the very same sediment is kicked up at the plant when they replace the lines,,I’d hate to see a project go forth without any hindsight but again its Norwalk where most factors are not always figured into the whole picture.

  • 2 Mr Greenpeace // Oct 17, 2007 at 12:18 pm

    its not like it just became an issue over money. its not like Norwalk is a victim of sorts, this was talked about for years and who it impacts..

    its fact not my rants that make sense so read it and understand it was 2004 they released this press release

    lack of communication? I’d say so

    IMMEDIATE RELEASE: April 26, 2004

    Li Delegation Calls On Epa To Extend Deadline For Comments On Dredge Waste Dumping Into Sound

    Public Needs Additional Time to Review and Comment on Environmental Impact Statement

    Washington DC - Senators Charles Schumer and Hillary Rodham Clinton along with Representatives Tim Bishop, Carolyn McCarthy, Steve Israel and Gary Ackerman, called on the EPA to extend the deadline for public comment and hold additional public hearings on the plan to dump dredge wasted into Long Island Sound.

    “After taking so many steps forward to protect Long Island Sound, this plan is a giant leap back. The Environmental Impact Statement is thousands of pages and represents years of work. Surely, we owe the community adequate time to review and comment on the plan, and 30 days is simply not enough,” Representative Tim Bishop said.

    “We need more time to fully review the plan,” Senator Clinton said. “We need to be sure that dumping does not harm the Sound, and that we are working hard to identify alternative disposal methods for highly contaminated materials.”

    “The bottom line is Long Island families need more chances to hear from the experts about the real impact this plan will have on the Sound, and environmental experts need more time to separate the rhetoric from reality. This plan could end up polluting the Sound for generations if it’s done the wrong way, so we need more than 30 days to make sure it’s right,” Senator Schumer said.

    “As the Co-Chair of the bi-partisan House Long Island Sound Caucus, I believe caring for the Sound should not be a Democratic or Republican issue. We should always seek consensus. That means giving the citizens enough time to comment and make their voices heard on the future of this natural treasure,” Representative Steve Israel said.

    “Open water disposal of toxic dredge spoils put Long Island Sound at great risk for long term contamination, which could cause great financial harm to our local economy on Long Island. Residents should be given ample time to respond to this threat to our environment and economy,” Representative Carolyn McCarthy said.

    The Environmental Protection Agency has prepared an EIS to evaluate the environmental impacts of disposing of approximately 20 million cubic yards of dredge spoil in the Sound over the next 20 years. This material would primarily come from large dredging projects in industrial Connecticut Harbors, as well as smaller harbors and marinas in New York. In a letter sent to the EPA today, the Congressional delegation asked that the comment period on the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) on the designation of dumping sites be extended beyond its scheduled end date of May 17, 2004. Last year, the delegation’s efforts succeeded in extending the deadline for the initial public comment period until December 15.

    In their letter, the delegation also asked the EPA to hold a second public hearing on Long Island in addition to the meeting scheduled for May 4 in Islandia. So far there has been only one public hearing on the plan on Long Island, in September last year. However, it was poorly publicized and was held before local citizens had the opportunity to understand the plan.

    The Long Island Sound is one of the nation’s most important and burdened waterways. Over 10 percent of the nation’s population lives within 40 miles of the Long Island Sound. Currently, more than 1 billion gallons of inadequately treated waste makes its way into the Long Island Sound each day-so there is already a great burden on the Sound.

  • 3 anon // Oct 17, 2007 at 2:59 pm

    The harbor master doesn’t know what he’s talking about when he’s talking costs.

  • 4 here we go again // Oct 17, 2007 at 4:18 pm

    is he the charging for the ship to berthed here for a week?

    I hope not,,,

  • 5 Mr Greenpeace // Oct 17, 2007 at 4:51 pm

    just another document that again helps understands what has taken place to get this far.

    http://www.epa.gov/ne/eco/lisdreg/assets/pdfs/eis2003/lismain.pdf

  • 6 John Pupolouious // Oct 17, 2007 at 4:52 pm

    I bet they get the mooring for the regular price of a few bucks a foot or less. A $20-40 million dollar ship like that would usually pay 2000-5000 bucks for a 24 hour tie up in Key West or Miami, Newport, or just about any place with a decent dock.

  • 7 high road // Oct 17, 2007 at 5:11 pm

    Would seem to make sense to have a special (higher) fee for docking a boat for the purpose of doing business. Would i t be the same fee for a cruise ship? New London is bringing in cruise ships…might be a good idea…walking distance to historic SoNo; lunch in charming restaurants; a day at the Maritime Center. Maybe even the Norwalk Museum. It could work. No traffic congestion; just lots of walking wallets.

  • 8 anonymous // Oct 17, 2007 at 5:12 pm

    This is just another environmentalist strategy to keep anything from happening. And, the republican administrations in Hartford and Washington are cutting funds for the dredging. Our harbor is silting up. Too bad.

    #6 - last I looked Norwalk isn’t Key West, Miami or Newport. I’ll be surprised if the ship doesn’t get stuck in the muck.

  • 9 #13 of the Miserable 25 // Oct 17, 2007 at 7:07 pm

    NEWS FLASH…..HUGE YACHT GROUNDED IN NORWALK CONNECTICUT HARBOR. WILL HAVE TO WAIT FOR NEXT FULL MOON TO TOW HER OFF THE MUD.

    Well it’s NO cruise ship. IT IS a damn nice size yacht. See them moored all over the place in Palm Beach and Miami. There had better be a mooring charge of some type even if it is paltry.

  • 10 Mr Greenpeace // Oct 17, 2007 at 7:26 pm

    this was earlier today on another thread

    Mr. Greenpeace, the ship is at the dock as part of a fundraiser for the Maritime Aquarium. The city is not hosting it, its just letting it dock there.
    The ship went through the exact same procedures as anyone else wishing to use Norwalk Parks, docks etc. Why is it that everyone needs to find fault. This ship will be docking in several towns across CT and no one but Norwalk residents have a problem with it. The Maritime Center happens to be the recipient of a percentage of the proceeds and this is a bad thing?

    by Mike Lyons — October 16, 2007 @ 8:58 pm

    The ship went through the exact same procedures as anyone else wishing to use Norwalk Parks, docks etc. Why is it that everyone needs to find fault. This ship will be docking in several towns across CT and no one but Norwalk residents have a problem with it. The Maritime Center happens to be the recipient of a percentage of the proceeds and this is a bad thing?

    by Anonymous — October 17, 2007

    I have to admit if we could host ships like this it would enhance downtown SONO, I never thought it would cost that much to moor a ship of that size here in Ct. little lone Norwalk.

    MG

  • 11 #13 of the Miserable 25 // Oct 17, 2007 at 7:54 pm

    There should be no shock. Norwalk has one of the finest Islands, harbors and shore front on the Connecticut shore. One that should be guarded like the crown jewels.

  • 12 Mr Greenpeace // Oct 17, 2007 at 8:30 pm

    I realize that #13 simply didn’t realize what the going rate was,,there were about 16 harbors that needed attention along the coast in the sound on the Ct side that take in fuel, sand and coal,,the rest of the small inlets also need attention as well so when it comes to the receiving end of grants and state dollars I wonder where we sit on a priority scale..

    This does not include the ones on the Long island side so as all can see we are not the only ones waiting for money.We are not the only ones being made to cap the sediment as well, others have matched federal funds and have received far more than us.

    I know by working with the Coast Gaurd what is priority in NY city but along the coast dredging is more than just a recreational venture, I realize Bridgeport has the deepest draft for lager container ships and barges, I wonder if Norwalk could be next in line as you go into the sound for priority places to receive money.

    I wonder if the Advocate will have Tim Stelloh do some more reporting on all of this he has done the most and by far the best reporting so far on most of the environmental issues than any other news source.

  • 13 Mr Greenpeace // Oct 18, 2007 at 10:39 pm

    I couldn’t hep but not post this, the same guy who wants Norwalk to cap our sediment has requested money for a Woodstock muesuem,,and I was wondering where Norwalk stood on a priority list..figures I would find this

    WASHINGTON - Hippies used to say if you remember Woodstock, you weren’t really there. Republicans say presidential contender Hillary Rodham Clinton can forget about getting $1 million in taxpayer funds for a Woodstock museum.

    Clinton and Charles Schumer, Democratic senators from New York, want to earmark the federal money for a museum that would commemorate the 1969 music festival in their state.

    “Woodstock Museum is a shining example of what’s wrong with Washington on pork-barrel, out-of-control spending,” said John McCain, Arizona senator and Republican presidential hopeful. An example, he said, of “the earmark pork-barrel spending which has made the American people disenchanted and angry.”

    Sens. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., and Tom Coburn, R-Okla., moved Thursday to strip the Woodstock earmark from a massive health and education spending bill on the Senate floor. They won a key 52-42 vote — seeping with presidential politics — and the earmark was dropped.

    Five Democrats voted against the Woodstock provision. So did old-school GOP members of the Appropriations Committee who had on prior occasions voted against conservative criticism of senators’ earmarks.

    “With all the pressing needs facing our country today, from entitlement reform to children’s health care to the war in Iraq, the idea that the federal government should fund a museum that celebrates a 38-year-old concert is simply absurd,” Kyl said.

    It’s the type of parochial project that’s easy to make fun of. Conservatives call it a hippie museum and a taxpayer-funded LSD flashback.

    The Woodstock museum — officially called the Museum at Bethel Woods — is due to open next year. Bethel is the town in upstate New York where organizers eventually put on the three-day Woodstock Music and Art Fair, featuring Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, The Band and others.

    The open-air gathering attracted hundreds of thousands, became a defining moment of 1960s youth rebellion and shut down the New York State Thruway.

    When Schumer and Clinton trumpeted the $1 million earmark for the museum back in June, she said in a statement that it would “continue to promote education, the arts, culture and tourism in the region.”

    It is part of a larger development called the Bethel Woods Center for the Performing Arts with a 16,800-seat amphitheater. The development was opened in 2006.

    Billionaire Alan Gerry is the force behind the project. He and his family have contributed almost $30,000 to Clinton and a committee headed by Schumer dedicated to electing Democrats to the Senate.

    Gerry is a longtime major political donor. The contributions — $20,000 to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and $9,200 to Clinton’s presidential campaign — came just days after the earmark was inserted into the legislation.

    Clinton did not speak during Thursday’s debate on the project, but Schumer strongly defended the Bethel project as a boon for an economically struggling county.

    While Clinton and Schumer jointly took credit for the earmark, Schumer was the driving force behind it.

    Coburn himself said the project sounded like a good idea, but he also said U.S. taxpayers shouldn’t foot the bill. The $1 million in federal funds would be a small fraction of the overall $100 million cost.

    The underlying health and education bill is a target-rich measure for earmark critics since it contains more than 1,000 earmarks totaling $562 million, according to Taxpayers for Common sense, a budget watchdog group.

    Republicans tried but failed Thursday to block $2 million for the Charles B. Rangel Center for Public Service at The City College of New York — spending that GOP critics dubbed Rangel’s “monument to me.”

    Liberal activists, meanwhile, protested a $100,000 earmark by Sen. David Vitter, R-La., to the Louisiana Family Forum, a conservative group that was to use the funds “to develop a plan to promote better science education.”

    Critics said Vitter’s earmark would go toward promoting creationism. It turns out the group did not request the money, which Vitter says will now go for science and computer labs in Ouachita Parish in the northern part of the state.

    so your all thinking they have my vote,ya right :)

    ___

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