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DEP Permitting Finally Happening in Stone Harbor

Stone Harbor Logo
Stone Harbor Logo

By Vince Conti

STONE HARBOR – Stone Harbor’s coastal consultant Douglas Gaffney had good news for Borough Council at its March 7 meeting. 
The Municipal Public Access Plan (MPAP) that had been sitting with the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) for over three months has been signed. It remains for the borough to go through a process to incorporate the now approved plan into its Master Plan.
With the MPAP approved, the borough can move on its request for a General Purpose-2 (GP-2) permit for regular and ongoing beach maintenance. The borough’s previous permit expired in September, and the municipality could not reapply until it had an approved MPAP.
Gaffney said the GP-2 permit application has been submitted with the fee paid. This starts a 90-day clock for DEP approval. With only 81 days remaining before Memorial Day, the borough is hoping that DEP will move quickly on the application.
Gaffney also said the borough’s emergency permit (EP) has been granted by DEP for work to repair the vehicle access road to Stone Harbor Point. The road has been impassible since it suffered storm damage in December 2022.
Gaffney added that the borough is ready to move quickly with the repairs. The EP requires that work begin within 30 days and be completed in an additional 30 days.
“I don’t expect they would close us down if it took 61 days,” Gaffney added, “but we are ready to move quickly.”
Further justification for the EP needs to follow the work and will be incorporated in another permit application. This one for what is called an individual permit. With the application for that permit, the borough will seek approval to perform more significant beach operations than are allowed under the GP-2.
Among the things being discussed with the state and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is modification to the 127th Street jetty. The goal of those modifications would be to slow the process of erosion of sand from the south-end beaches in the years between federal beach replenishment projects.
Supporting material for that permit application includes a beach feasibility study and numerical modeling capability that Gaffney has been spearheading since his arrival as a consultant from Mott MacDonald to the borough in 2022. 
With all the various clocks running down on beach restoration and replenishment, perhaps the most immediately critical is the GP-2 permit, which the borough needs to properly prepare the beaches for the summer onslaught of visitors that starts on Memorial Day.
Mayor Judith Davies-Dunhour made clear to the public that fears that lifeguard stands could not be put on the beaches without the permit were overstated. She said the stands are exempt from the DEP regulations.
She added that a jurisdictional determination dating back to 2012 probably means the concession stands can also be deployed, even if the permit is late in gaining approval. 
The real danger of a late GP-2 permit is it could delay work by Public Works on beach access paths. It could also endanger the ability of the borough to honor its part of a shared work agreement with the Army Corps that grew out of the plans for beach replenishment. 
It has been a struggle, at times, for the borough to gain its required approvals from the DEP. Gaffney’s presentation hinted at improvements in that relationship. 
Contact the author, Vince Conti, at vconti@cmcherald.com.

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