The bill that would allow local governments to create a special tax district to pay for dredging waterways and canals should have been dismissed a long time ago, Islandpacket.com reports.
The bill has been defined so narrowly that the Sea Pines area is no longer considered as qualified.
Also the group that would have most benefitted from the bill had turned their focus elsewhere.
One of the problems which emerged was the question where to dump the dredged materials? The South Island Dredging Association suggested Calibogue Sound area.
Officials stated that the cost of dredging of the Harbour Town Yacht Basin, South Beach Marina and other Sea Pines waterways would decrease with inshore disposal.
Depending on the disposal method, the cost of dumping the material would range from $7 million to $15 million.
The dredging association stated that the option of dumping dredge spoil into Calibogue Sound is the only financially viable option.
However, concerns such as the impact on creatures at the bottom of the sound, the impact of suspended sediment on fish and other wildlife and where the sediment might end up, have emerged.
Dredging association officials met with state and federal regulators in January to talk about soil dumping in Calibogue Sound, and they have hired engineers to work with regulators to determine the testing required.
[mappress]
Dredging Today Staff, June 22, 2012