Posted on December 3, 2025
The approval will allow the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to work around the clock at a site near Palm Beach’s North End.
Key Points
- The Palm Beach Town Council approved a waiver for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to work outside of permitted hours.
- The waiver allows for 24/7 staging of equipment in the Palm Beach Harbor near the inlet for dredging projects.
- The Army Corps has upcoming beach replenishment projects with Palm Beach, Delray Beach and Ocean Ridge.
Palm Beach’s council has approved a waiver that will allow the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to work in the Lake Worth Lagoon outside of town-permitted hours, beginning as early as December and continuing through June.
The council voted unanimously at its Nov. 12 meeting to grant the waiver, which will allow an Army Corps contractor to work around the clock to stage equipment and use as safe harbor the area in the Palm Beach Harbor. That spot is just inside the Lake Worth Inlet, south of the channel and outside of the turning basin for the Port of Palm Beach, said Paul Brazil, Palm Beach’s Public Works director.
In addition to the town’s upcoming project with the Army Corps to replenish Midtown Beach with sand, the federal agency also is working on projects with Delray Beach and Ocean Ridge, Coastal Manager Sara Gutekunst said.
“This request is typical and necessary for any of these dredging projects in the area,” Brazil said. “The Palm Beach Harbor is the only harbor anywhere near any of the other projects, and we use the exact same staging area when we do ours.”
When using the area for staging during pre- and post-construction work, contractors will point their lights north away from Palm Beach, he said.
