County Could Again Shift Course On Dredge Project

The county may once again consider a different course for a controversial facet of the planned channel dredge project here.

Staffers are developing alternative options for county commissioners to consider now that opponents of the county's plan to dump some 50,000 cubic yards of spoil on a four-acre site on Eagle Nest Drive will get a hearing in front of an administrative law judge, Deputy County Administrator Larry Jennings said Tuesday.

County officials worry that even if a judge rules for the county, the appeals process could take years.

"We felt it was incumbent on us to take a look to see if there are other options available to us," Deputy County Administrator Larry Jennings said.

Jennings said he wasn't prepared Tuesday to cite what those alternatives might be.

The county had initially considered a four-acre tract at the corner of Petit Lane and Shoal Line Boulevard as a possible backup and even briefly decided late last year to pursue that instead after the Florida Department of Environmental Protection noted significant flaws in the permit request for the spoil site. The Petit Lane site would mean pumping the spoil some 2,500 feet farther than the Eagle Nest site, which would add significantly to the cost, officials have said.

If that could still be an option, Jennings said, "Anything that's a viable option needs to be looked at and considered."

County staff, including Assistant County Engineer Gregg Sutton, who is project manager for the dredge, is expected to present alternative sites at the commission's Sept. 16 meeting, Jennings said.

That's also the day that Sutton's boss, County Engineer Charles Mixson, will return after a 10-day suspension by County Administrator David Hamilton for a host of deficiencies. Among them, according to a disciplinary memo sent from Hamilton to Mixson on Friday, is that Mixson "failed to adequately supervise the Hernando Beach Canal dredging project."

"This delay has placed the County's ability to fund the project in jeopardy," Hamilton wrote.

The state has chipped in $6 million of the $9 million cost of the long-awaited project to deepen and extend the channel.

County Commissioner Dave Russell said even more expensive options must now be on the table since the money from the state "has been apportioned but is not in our bank account yet" and a delay could cause lawmakers to use it somewhere else.

"We frankly just can't roll the dice," he said.

The Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has given notice of intent to issue the permit for the spoil site. That triggered a public comment period that drew two separate requests for hearing from residents who say the plan could degrade water quality in nearby canals and marshland and increase the risk of flooding for nearby homes.

The DEP has already forwarded one request from Ed and Ann Oz of Mangrove Drive in Hernando Beach to the state's Division of Administrative Hearings. A hearing has been tentatively set for Oct 22 in Brooksville.

The DEP is currently evaluating the second request from a group of 31 residents, mostly from Hernando Beach, who oppose the project on the same grounds.

Those residents also argue that county knew from the outset that securing a permit for the Eagle Nest Drive site, owned by the Manuel family of Brooksville, would be problematic but pursued it anyway. The Manuels are leasing the property to the county for $10 a year. In return, the county will leave some of the dirt on the land so the family can build homes there.

Russell has said he doesn't think that's a fair characterization and repeated that Tuesday.

Though he described Mixson's suspension as "the right call" on Hamilton's part, he said the county seems to have followed the due process for the permit. He noted DEP was confident enough in the county plan to proffer the notice of intent to issue the document.

"Hindsight's 20/20," Russell said. "Looking back, if we'd have chosen another site, perhaps we could have avoided a lengthy process. Perhaps we would have invited more complaints and still wouldn't have an NOI. You can point fingers, but the bottom line is we're where we're at because of a lengthy bureaucratic process.

"You can't always assume a complaint is going to stall a project," Russell added. "If that were the case, nothing would get built."

Cliff Manuel said the successful completion of the dredge project should take priority over the deal with the county, but the family wants the county to be fair as it considers other options.

The county's exploration of alternatives, Manuel said, "should be diligent and above board and transparent and consistent with the environmental constraints associated with the use of a site for (spoil) disposal.

"If all those things are done fairly, maybe there is an alternative better than ours," he added. "I don't think there's one less expensive."

Carol Oz, daughter of Ed and Ann Oz and an environmental scientist in California specializing in water quality biology, will be arguing on behalf of her parents at next month's hearing. Oz said the family and neighbors are just glad they'll have a chance to publicly air their concerns.

If the county had considered them in the first place, Carol Oz said, "the dredge could be done by now."