Posted on March 7, 2019
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ISLAMORADA — A Lower Matecumbe Key neighborhood received what could be positive news on a long-sought dredging project, but deadlines loom.
Hurricane Irma in September 2017 dumped massive amounts of sand in the oceanside dog-leg canal near mile marker 74, making it nearly impassable for many boats.
“The amount of dredging needed, which was clearly caused by Hurricane Irma, is not being addressed,” said Robert Moser, president of the Lower Matecumbe Beach Property Owners Association. “It’s really getting down to the wire.”
A countywide grant of $45.8 million from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Resources Conservation Service to remove storm debris from Florida Keys canals came in under budget, it was announced in late February.
More than 90 percent of marine debris — vehicles, boats, sheds and more — has been removed from Keys canals at a cost of around $18 million. Sand and sediment removal was not included in the initial phase of the program.
Now 10 canals in Monroe County, including the Iroquois-Sunset Canal used by 85 Lower Matecumbe residences, have been approved for sediment removal. However, the federal program is scheduled to expire March 21 unless extended for another 60 days.
“We’ve sent photos of boats getting stuck at the mouth of canal to everyone we can think of,” Moser said.
Rules of the program also could limit sediment removal to deposits caused by flooding.
“They don’t consider hurricane as flooding, although Irma flooded our streets and pushed sand into the canal,” Moser said.
Clearing tons of sediment is significantly more costly than than lifting debris out of a canal.
“The community does not have enough to pay for it ourselves, even if we collected from every property affected,” Moser said.
The same federal program provided funding to clear sediment blockage caused by Hurricane Georges in 1998, he said, but officials in 2019 are remaining noncommittal.
“The village of Islamorada is fighting for us, but we need the county to push for us” with the federal program, Moser said. “It would be a travesty if the NRCS doesn’t allow the village to utilize the millions of dollars that have already been allocated because their guidelines are too restrictive or because time ran out.”
Other canals approved for possible sediment removal include a second waterway on Lower Matecumbe; on Marathon’s Sombrero Beach and Tingler Lane; and Big Pine Key canals off Hibiscus Lane, Avenue I, Fourth Street and Fifth Street.
Source: keysnews.com
