Stone Harbor Back Bay Dredge Update
About 5:45 PM on Tuesday 3/8/15 there was an incident at the Stone Harbor Marina Parking lot associated with the Stone Harbor Maintenance Dredging Project. Two geotubes located on the south side of the parking lot failed, releasing fluid mud at the project site. Some of the material flowed through the perimeter security fencing to the bulkhead and limited amounts of liquid mud seeped through openings in the bulkhead and entered the North Basin. The material that was released was dredged from Shelter Haven. Previous sampling and testing of this material characterize this material as meeting NJDEP Residential Direct Contact Soil Remediation Standards and does not pose a threat to human health. No one was injured, however as a result of the incident the NJDEP is prohibiting dredging until further notice.
The Borough of Stone Harbor is disappointed with this second geotube incident. This incident could and should have been prevented. In addition to restoring the marina to pre-project conditions, the contractor is developing an incident report that details the cause and extent of failure, proposed site restoration, and preventative actions to implement and ensure that another incident of this nature does not occur.
Upon authorization to proceed, the Contractor intends to commence dredging the Access Channel with placement of separated sand on the beach. The remainder of the Shelter Haven Basin will be dredged prior to demobilization. Dredging activities are permitted to occur until April 30 with final demobilization to be completed by May 14.
