OCEAN CITY — State and local officials this week drafted a letter of intent to the Army Corps of Engineers (ACE) expressing frustration over the Inlet’s depth and its impact on local fishing industries.
The Inlet and the channels in and around the resort area naturally silt due to a variety of factors and need to be frequently dredged to maintain a navigable depth. ACE maintains the depth of the channels at 10 feet with two feet of overdraft and ACE’s heavy dredging equipment is a fixture each spring and fall.
However, the federally authorized 10-foot depth in the Inlet is not sufficient to sustain the multi-million dollar commercial and recreational fishing industries. Even the smallest of vessels often bottom out in the Inlet, causing damage to boats and curtailing activity at the once-bustling commercial harbor.
Most boats have to time their entries and exits through the Inlet on the high tide, costing valuable time and money. Others that have long fished out of Maryland’s only Atlantic port have taken their business elsewhere.
Delegate Mary Beth Carozza (R-38C) told resort business leaders this week the Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR), Worcester County and Ocean City continue to hammer for a long-term solution.
“We’re trying to put some sense of urgency on it,” she said. “It’s going to take a team effort from all of our non-federal partners. Most of this will be funded by the Army Corps and we need to get them focused on dredging to a deeper level of as much as 16 feet.”
A long-term solution to the Inlet dredging problem is currently floundering in the study and design phase. A potential project would be funded at about 90 percent by the federal government with an in-kind contribution by the state and local governments. However, ACE is waiting on a letter of intent from the non-federal partners outlining their commitment to the project.
“We just need to keep going back and going back,” said Carozza. “It’s going to take a letter of intent from the state, the county and Ocean City.”
Later in the week, Carozza said the letter of intent had been drafted and was awaiting final approval from the state and local partners before being sent to the ACE. She said ACE officials were pushing for another meeting just to discuss the expected letter of intent.
“We said no, absolutely not,” she said. “We’re not going to spend time with another meeting about a letter of intent. We’re just going to do the letter of intent.”