Marina Dock Age

Several marinas were among members of the Connecticut Maritime Coalition and representatives from shoreline businesses that met with Connecticut state lawmakers Feb. 5. They claim that the state must ease regulatory obstacles to dredging or risk damaging the economy in the long term, according to a report from The (New London, Conn.) Day.

Members of the state Environment, Appropriations, and Transportation committees heard businesses complain that they could not complete necessary maintenance dredging because of the high costs and long delays associated with complying with state and federal regulations.

Rives Potts of Brewer Pilots Point Marina in Westbrook said his company had struggled to secure permits for relatively moderate maintenance dredging projects. In addition, Potts was forced to transport what he considered to be mildly polluted sediment many miles to the state’s central Long Island Sound dumping ground. This added $165,000 to the cost of the project.

Opponents to the current regulations aimed their strongest criticisms at the state EPA for changing the dredging permit requirements in recent years, creating project delays and increasing the cost of dumping dredged material in offshore water.

EPA, however, replied that its regulations haven’t changed at all. Brian Thompson, director of the agency’s Office of Long Island Sound Programs, said the vast majority of dredged material in Connecticut goes to four disposal sites in Long Island Sound, off the shores of Greenwich, New Haven, Old Saybrook, and New London, Conn.

The state also is under pressure from the federal government and the state of New York, which opposes open-water disposal of dredged material. Connecticut is more determined to monitor its dredging operations for pollutants, Thompson said, and could halt open-water dumping altogether. He added that using these open-water sites requires testing and adhering to standards, which account for a lot of the time delays and cost increases in acquiring dredging permits.

The waterfront businesses noted that closing the offshore dumping sites means inland disposal would be the only option for disposing of dredged materials. This option is several times more expensive than open-water disposal, the businesses said.