Baltimore County, MD BCUpFront, 21 Jun 2011

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From YouTube: Pleasure Island Shoreline Restoration

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Towson, Md. (June 21, 2011) - Baltimore County Executive Kevin Kamenetz today announced the completion of the $4.7 million Pleasure Island Dredging and Living Shoreline Enhancement Project. This major dredging and beach replenishment effort restores boating access to the Pleasure Island Channel, improves water quality and protects 2,200 feet of fragile shoreline.

"We very much appreciate the support of our state and federal partners in what has been a real win for boaters and the environment," said County Executive Kevin Kamenetz. "Together, we've secured long-term access to the Pleasure Island channel for the thousands of boaters that use it every year, while protecting water quality and sheltering the homes and businesses on Miller Island from storms."

The shoreline of Pleasure Island, part of North Point State Park, was eroding at a rate of more than a foot per year. The newly created beach consists of 52,000 cubic yards of material dredged from the boating channel that has been planted with wetland vegetation. This "living shoreline" serves to stabilize the shoreline and prevent sediment erosion into the bay. A rock groin constructed along the north side of the island at Hawk Cove is designed to trap sand and keep the material out of the newly dredged channel.

The $4.7 million project was managed by Baltimore County Department of Environmental Protection and Sustainability staff with design and construction costs paid for with state and federal funds. The Maryland Department of the Environment applied $2.7 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act Program (stimulus) money, the Maryland Department of Natural Resources' Waterway Improvement Fund contributed $1.9 million, and the Maryland Port Administration provided $100,000.

"This has been a long time coming and it is very beneficial to the recreational boating industry and also helps protect the bay from damaging sediment erosion and nutrient pollution," said County Council Chair John Olszewski Sr. who represents the area.

A

Hi we're here at pleasure, island on the east side of Baltimore County, and this is a ribbon-cutting actually for a new facility. That's going to be available to the public owned by the state of Maryland and it started as a small little park area in the 40s and 50s got hit hard by a hurricane in 1964. Ultimately, the state took over ownership of the land from Bethlehem Steel Company, and it was facing a lot of erosion losing one point three feet a year annually pretty soon.

A

If we did nothing if it would have been totally covered over by water by use of four point: seven million dollars, primarily stimulus money from the federal government and thanks to Senator Mikulski and Senator Cardin, for their help.

A

With that, we were able to help manage a project that did shoreline restoration of the project and rebuilt the island, and the island serves not only as a natural habitat and a living shoreline that will help filter water and clean the Gateway to the Chesapeake Bay, but also serves as a barrier island that protects nearby Miller island community. So, the next time there is a 100-year storm, this island will help protect the residents who live on the other side of the island.

A

In addition, we've dredged to cut a cut that will allow voters to have safe access to reach our Baltimore County Shore. So it's really a win-win: environmentally we're cleaning, the water, restoring the bay, giving a habitat for wildlife, giving boaters an opportunity to have easier access not only to this new island, but also to reach the shore safely and, of course, protecting us during storms in bad weather. So what a great amenity another great part of bones: okay,.

B

This is the pleasure island, beneficial youth, living shoreline enhancement and dredging project, Baltimore County just completed construction, restoring and protecting Pleasure Island, which is the state-owned island used for recreational use. We put a series of breakwaters and sills used tons of rock to protect the shoreline from erosion we pumped fifty thousand cubic yards of sand from the channel, which is called the cut. We pumped that sand onto the beach created a nice beach on the south side of Pleasure Island, and then we planted it with wetland vegetation and that was just completed. This April.

C

This is a very important project for us, in particular when you think about Hurricane Isabel and some of the damage that project some of the damage that that storm caused to this area. For us to provide this incredible project that essentially revitalized the shoreline and protect the residents. That's extremely critical to us, so the partnerships that were created around this project with the DNR, the Department of Natural Resources, the communities, the local government of Baltimore County.

C

We thought the partnerships and the the environmental benefits of this project is something that is where it's going to last a very long time. So MDS Ben is very proud to participate in this project. We're very proud to finance that we're happy about the partnerships that have been created and basically.

D

What we've done here is we provided 1.9 million dollars from the Department of Natural, Resources waterway Improvement Fund, the Baltimore County to go ahead and dredge the cut channel, which is used by thousands of recreational boaters annually, and we've used that material in a beneficial way, with Baltimore County to go ahead and create a rolling line.

D

Protection project that only protects provides habitat for shorebirds and other creatures that live in the bay, but also helps stabilize Pleasure Island, which has been eroding for years, the material of which has been entering the channel and creating the need for do additional dredging. So we're very excited about this project being completed, and we want to really congratulate Baltimore County for a job well done in completing this project for the benefit of the boating public. The people who love the bay and the citizens of Maryland Baltimore County I'm.

E

Here to celebrate the opening of the new Pleasure Island restoration project, Baltimore County is tape undertaken many residents in the area. Boaters use the island for recreation, some use it for overnight camping.

E

The project has not only created recreational use, but it's also provided some stabilization of Pleasure Island, which was having an erosion problem, and it's also added protection for the shoreline on the Millers Island community. I would welcome anybody who has an opportunity to visit the southeastern part of the county to enjoy our waterfront to enjoy heart heart, Miller, Island, North, Point, State Park, and please visit the restaurants and the other businesses in the community. We've.

F

Been out here reviewing the Pleasure Island dredging project, which is referred to as the cut, which has been used by many many many of our boaters as they come out of Middle River and decided to head towards Annapolis or the city Inner Harbor. It's always been a very useful device and it cuts back on the time to go around Hart, Miller, Island and especially on windy and rough days.

F

The use of the cut has always been the preferred way, but as of recent years, the depth was getting out of hand, meaning too shallow, and so this project that has just been completed, which totally deepens the channel further than it's ever been now down to 8 feet. 150 feet wide, should give most voters a real change in their attitude of well. We got to go through the cut this time and I had been on the county's Planning Board at the time.

F

This was being thought of and highly recommended the financial part of the capital budget that it took to do this job, and so we're very thankful that the County State and everyone else that was involved got onto this project and got it done in a very very short time, and hopefully it'll be many. Many years they used to have to read reg it about every ten or less years, and now it should last quite a bit longer. Nobody seems to know how much, but just obvious to the dimensions of it.

F

It should be much more length of time between the dredging.