DNREC seeking public comment on Rehoboth ocean outfall
Citizens will once again have the chance to weigh in on Rehoboth Beach’s long-debated ocean outfall project.
The Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control is soliciting public comment on the Rehoboth outfall project at a public meeting, 1:30 to 4:30 p.m., Thursday, Sept. 21, in the Rehoboth Beach Convention Center as part of the department’s environmental impact statement on the project.
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Buoy set out to test outfall waters
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The City of Rehoboth Beach and engineers Stearns & Wheler/GHD have placed a buoy 6,000 feet off the coast of Deauville Beach to gather data for the city’s ocean outfall project.
The buoy is about in the spot where the proposed outfall pipe would end. It will collect information on waves, current, density and water temperature over a two-month period. Data collected from the buoy will also be used to determine the environmental effects of the outfall. The project, budgeted at $250,000, is ongoing, with more data to be collected over another two-month period in either the spring or summer of next year. The buoy itself has a cable underneath that runs down to the ocean floor. Mayor Sam Cooper said instruments for data collection are attached at strategic points: at the top, bottom and approximately halfway down the cable. Cooper said Stearns & Wheler/GHD contracted with Woods Hole Group of Massachusetts to put the buoy in the water and retrieve the data. The buoy is barely visible during the daytime, but it can be seen at night because of the light attached to the top, which serves as a beacon for mariners. Deauville Beach is in the northern part of Rehoboth, on the north side of the Henlopen Hotel. |
Rehoboth Mayor Sam Cooper said he was not sure what to expect at the meeting. The city will present a brief overview of the project.
Cooper said the meeting would produce what the department wants to see in the environmental impact statement.
The statement will address anticipated environmental problems, and the public is encouraged to comment on the scope of the project.
Cooper said the state wants to wait to release the statement until after city engineers complete the first round of water testing on the proposed outfall pipe site, 6,000 feet off Deauville Beach.
Engineers Stearns and Wheler/GHD have placed a buoy at the spot where the outfall pipe is expected to end to collect data on waves, current, density and water temperature. The data collection is scheduled to last two months.
The department is required to prepare the environmental impact statement prior to approval of financial assistance for the project.
Funding for the estimated $32 million project will come from the state’s Clean Water Revolving Fund, as well as federal sources. The Rehoboth project was the No. 2- ranked project on the state’s project priority list.
The state’s environmental impact statement is expected to be completed in early 2011 and will be available for public review during a 30-day comment period and a public hearing.
Once the final statement is complete, the department will review it to make sure all issues have been addressed. The final statement will be used in the department’s decision on Rehoboth’s loan application.
Written comments will be accepted through Friday, Sept. 24, and can be sent to Greg Pope, DNREC Financial Assistance Branch, 5 E. Reed St., Suite 200, Dover, DE 19901. Comments can also be faxed to 739-2137 or emailed to greg.pope@state.de.us
