By SUZANNE MARINO
Staff Writer
MARGATE – The Margate City Commissioners had set a deadline for having their ducks in a row as far as the back bay is concerned.
By Dec. 1, all of the paperwork was to be ready to launch to the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection in pursuit of getting permission to dredge three separate areas along Margate’s back bay where the current and sand are working in concert to make passage through the channel challenging at low tide.
City engineer Ed Wahlberg reported to the governing body that the applications are completed and ready to go, but the clam study, an integral part of the application in light of previous DEP opposition to dredging in certain other locales, has not been completed.
Historically, the DEP has refused to allow dredging that would disturb a clam bed or other emerging habitat.
On the agenda for Thursday, Dec. 7 is a resolution authorizing a contract for Dr. Peter Straub to do a clam survey at a cost of $13,057.
Straub will make a determination if it is feasible for a clam bed located behind the Log Cabin restaurant to be relocated to clear the way for dredging.
The findings from the survey will be included with the dredging application that Margate is filing with the DEP. TOP
