Public needs plain talk about dredge decisions

The story of the Hernando Beach Channel dredge, already fraught with a decade of broken promises, missed deadlines and bureaucratic back-and-forth, continues to spawn disagreements and indecision. The latest one involves where to deposit the sand and silt that will be sucked from the channel as it is made deeper, wider and longer.

On most occasions, the delays have been caused by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, the Army Corps of Engineers, or a lack of funding. It has taken time, determination and compromise to overcome those obstacles, and it appeared the permits necessary to begin work would be in hand soon. Once again, that expectation has entered the realm of wishful thinking.

But this time around, it is Hernando County that can't make up its mind. What's more, there has been no adequate public explanation for why the county, on Dec. 18, reversed a decision it made just 10 days earlier about where to dump the spoil from the dredge.

It is uncertain if this odd turnaround, which embraces a plan the county let go in early December, will satisfy the DEP or cause yet another delay in the permitting process. But it cries out for the County Commission to insist on an explanation and update from its staff at the regularly scheduled meeting Tuesday.

Commissioner David Russell Jr., who was very instrumental in securing funds and coordinating plans with the DEP when he was in the state House of Representatives, should lead the call for accountability by asking - or answering - these questions first: What happened between Dec. 7 and Dec. 18 that persuaded County Administrator Larry Jennings and engineer Gregg Sutton to ask the DEP to dump the muck on wetlands on an Eagle Nest Drive property, instead of a larger site on Petit Lane and Shoal Line Boulevard? Will it save taxpayers money? If so, why and how much? Have the property owners influenced their decision? How requests from residents, of whom there are plenty on both sides of the dredge issue, may have lobbied commissioners?

The purpose of these inquiries is less about affixing blame for another possible delay than it is about keeping the $9-million project, of which $3-million is coming straight out of Hernando Countians' pockets, on track. It is an important undertaking, in terms of public safety and the local economy. Hernando Beach has a viable fishing industry, netting more than a quarter of the shrimp sold in Florida's bait shops. Dredging the channel is crucial to maintain the depth of the busy waterway so that boats, commercial and recreational, can safely navigate when the tide is low or storms are approaching.

Russell, in response to a rosy report in August from Sutton that the dredging equipment would be in the water by February, acknowledged his frustration by saying, "It is time to bring this in for a landing." We agree, and finding out why the commission's staff is vacillating when the deal was almost done is a good approach to what we hope will be a safe arrival.

[Last modified January 12, 2008, 19:59:33]