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DEP Raises More Red Flags About Dredging

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By CHRISTIAN M. WADE, The Tampa Tribune

Published: January 26, 2008

PORT RICHEY - State regulators have presented city officials with another laundry list of concerns about plans to dredge a waterway linking Lake Deedra to the Pithlachascotee River, one of three permit requests for a multimillion-dollar project.

In a Jan. 23 letter to LPA Group, the city's dredging consultant, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection said it is concerned that poor water quality from the lake will flow back into the river and state wetlands when the dredging gets under way.

Water samples taken from the lake in late October found extremely high levels of fecal coliform bacteria, lead, oil, grease and other pollutants, according to the DEP letter.

Among other concerns, the agency wants the city to submit plans detailing how the contaminants would be removed while ensuring they don't seep into state-protected wetlands.

Most city officials hadn't seen the DEP's latest request for additional information on Friday, but few expressed surprise at the new round of wrangling over the decade-old dredging project.

"From what I understand, we were expecting this," Councilman Dale Massad said.

The permit is one of three being reviewed by regulators for a proposal to dredge miles of silt-clogged canals and other waterways degraded by pollution and years of neglect.

LPA Group has requested a six-month extension for the permit application to create a new channel to the Gulf of Mexico for boats to pass through seagrass beds between Brasher Park and the river, and to dredge an existing canal off Old Post Road.

All of the agencies involved in the permitting process - the DEP, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, National Marine Fisheries Service, Army Corps of Engineers and the federal Environmental Protection Agency - oppose that permit.

The consultants also have asked regulators to divide a third permit request, to dredge 26 canals, into two parts: one dealing with dredging five canals where the seagrass beds will be disturbed; and another covering canals where seagrass is nonexistent.

A DEP spokeswoman said regulators haven't taken action on either request.

"They're still under review," Pamala Vazquez said. "We haven't issued a decision yet."

City officials hope the extension will give them time to fine-tune the channel application to make it more favorable to the state and federal agencies reviewing it.

The dredging project calls for removing more than 400,000 cubic yards of mud, silt and sand, enough to cover 10 acres with a 15-foot-high mound.

DEP officials have raised numerous red flags with all three permit requests, including concerns about the dredging depths for the canals and the city's plan for storing, drying and disposing of the dredged materials.

Getting permits is only the first hurdle. The price tag for the project has been estimated at more than $15 million and the city has not yet secured the funding.

Meanwhile, council members and some residents have become increasingly frustrated with LPA Group over a lack of communication and delays in obtaining the permits.

Two weeks ago, a city-commissioned search group interviewed several environmental consulting firms that have expressed interest in taking over the permitting process.

At its next meeting, the city council is expected to consider a request from the city's Port Authority Board and Port Authority Committee to hire a replacement.

Reporter Christian M. Wade can be reached at (727) 815-1082 or cwade@tamaptrib.com.

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