An official with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection confirmed Monday morning that Hernando County has been given the all-clear to proceed with long-awaited dredging of the Hernando Beach channel.
Despite the threat of legal action, no one met Friday’s deadline to challenge the revised dredge permit. In an e-mail, DEP environmental specialist Andrew May said that all concerns had been worked out. Questions raised by property owners had focused on the monitoring of water quality in nearby waterways.
The remaining stumbling block, a change order that more than doubles the cost of the project, will be discussed by staff members today and by the County Commission on Tuesday.
The initial dredge had begun late last year but was stopped in January when concerns were raised about the amount of sediment that was present in water being returned to a canal.
( tampabay )
[mappress]
Source: tampabay, August 31, 2010;