Second Dredge Petition Will Get Hearing

A second group of petitioners who oppose a plan to dump material dredged from the channel onto a parcel on Eagle Nest Drive will get a hearing in front of an administrative judge.

The Florida Department Environmental Protection has forwarded the request of about a dozen petitioners to the state's Division of Administrative Hearings, a DEP spokeswoman said Tuesday.

The petition had originally included 31 names, nearly all from Hernando Beach, but not all filed for the necessary time extension with DEP.

The hearing may be combined with one already tentatively scheduled for Oct. 22 in Brooksville because both petitions note similar concerns about effects to water quality in nearby marshes and canals and possible flooding to nearby homes.

Both sets of petitioners are trying to prevent DEP from issuing a permit that would allow the county to build a containment berm on four acres of property owned by the Manuel family of Brooksville.

A contractor would dump some 50,000 cubic yards of slurry into the berm to dry. Most would be trucked away, but the county's contract with the Manuels calls for up to 20,000 cubic feet of the material to be used as fill to make the parcel suitable for a residential development.

County officials fear the hearing and appeals process could drag on for years and staffers are expected to give the county commissioner some alternatives at its regular meeting slated for Sept. 16.