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FEBRUARY 2, 2018
SERVING NORTHERN WORCESTER COUNTY
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BELIEVE IN TOMORROW Organization’s Prom Night to take place Saturday; king and queen winners announced – Page 36
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DNR survey shows inlet nearly closed by more shoaling Dredge due Sunday to bring some much needed relief
BRIAN GILLILAND/OCEAN CITY TODAY
HIGHWIRE ACT Crews from Delmarva Power work on power lines on Coastal Highway near the Roland E. Powell Convention Center on 40th Street, Wednesday morning, as part of reliability work, which includes changing utility pole arms, installing cutouts and squirrel guards, and replacing wire in some locations from 17th Street to 49th Street bayside on Coastal Highway. This work is part of the company’s ongoing effort to enhance reliability for customers and maintain the local power grid.
Wind companies keep pushing on Harris amendment still an obstacle, but developers continue offshore efforts
By Brian Gilliland Associate Editor (Feb. 2, 2018) Both US Wind and Deepwater Wind, the two companies working toward installing wind farms near Ocean City, and two local companies have made recent announcements about their ongoing efforts to support an offshore wind industry in Maryland. Despite a budget amendment put forth by Rep. Andy Harris (R-1) on H.R. 3354, which funds the Department of the Interior among others for fiscal 2018, businesses are starting preparations for offshore wind. Harris’ amendment blocks funding for inspectors for offshore wind facilities less than 24 miles from the shoreline. Without inspections, the facilities can’t begin power generation. Also, the leasing areas the wind companies spent millions to secure and defined by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management do not extend 24 miles offshore.
But, those inspections do not need to occur for another year, if not longer. In the meantime, both US Wind and Deepwater Wind have met with state and local authorities to discuss and progress their plans for wind farms off Maryland’s coast. In addition, local companies are stepping up their own efforts to support the projects before the first turbine begins spinning, expected sometime in 2019. The Martin Fish Company, which does business in Ocean City and New Jersey, recently received a $375,000 grant from the Maryland Energy Administration to support offshore wind. Chris Shriver, general manager, said the money would be used to enhance every aspect of their dock off Harbor Road in West Ocean City. “We’ll supply boat support for whatever is necessary, for whatever companies” that come along, he said. The grant must be used within two years, and Shriver said the company is examining its options to better serve both the commercial fishing industry and the workers or companies affiliated with offshore wind.
Improved amenities like increased office space for support staff and a staging area for maintenance or repair projects would likely be included, he said. Similarly, Salisbury-based development firm Devreco also secured $100,000 in funding from the state to pursue similar aims. “As the industry continues to evolve, we’re thankful to be part of it,” Brad Gillis, principal at Devreco, said. Devreco plans to use the grant funds to plan, design, and permit the construction of offshore wind operations and maintenance centers in West Ocean City. When finished, these facilities could house up to two crew-transfer vessels each. Gillis said he was still working with developers to determine what the exact needs of the industry would be. US Wind announced its partnership with Devreco to operate one of these operations and maintenance centers in West Ocean City and a handling facility in Baltimore during testimony before the Finance ComSee WIND Page 7
By Brian Gilliland Associate Editor (Feb. 2, 2018) A survey performed by the Department of Natural Resources for buoy placement at the inlet and provided to Ocean City Today shows an inlet that is nearly impassible to boats that draw any more than a few feet of water, hindering the state’s commercial fishing industry from meeting deadlines and maintaining working boats. Department of Natural Resources Public Information Officer Gregg Bortz ‘We’ll continue to said the survey address shoaling is taken every as we can and few months, funds are and the one available, using provided to the newspaper navigation is from Jan. funding…’ 16, 2018. Chris Gardner, It’s a bathyspokesman for metric survey, Bortz said, the Army Corps which is essentially the underwater equivalent of topography. The department plans to repeat the process every few months, although there’s no set dates or timeline. “This survey image was taken solely as a measure of depths for the U.S. Coast Guard for local boat guidance in setting navigational markers,” he said. The department doesn’t interpret the results, merely measures the bottom. However, Bortz explained the darkest blue color is generally between 30-47 feet deep, light green is around 10 feet deep and dark red is the shallowest at less than two feet deep. The Army Corps of Engineers, who oversee waterways like the inlet, has approved the Ocean City inlet to be 10 feet deep. Thus, the channel should be light green in color. This past week, the Army Corps had its own survey vessel out, measuring the extent of the shoaling, and determining the scope for new dredging operations, scheduled to begin next week. Chris Gardner, spokesman for the Army Corps, said the dredge Murden See NATURE Page 6