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State likely closed investigation into West Atlantic City drainage plan
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EGG HARBOR TOWNSHIP - Files connected to a West Atlantic City drainage project that was reviewed by state investigators were returned to the township last week, and municipal officials believe the investigation is over.
The township received a subpoena from Deputy Attorney General Susan Kase on July 23 requesting all documents pertaining to a $2.2 million drainage project intended to prevent flooding in the two-mile waterfront neighborhood. Five new drainage pipes were installed on Bay Drive in 2007, and a sand dune was constructed along Lakes Bay. Most of the work was funded by a grant from the state Department of Environmental Protection.
Township Administrator Peter Miller said at Wednesday's Township Committee meeting that a State Police officer brought back the files Monday. Miller said the officer told him the matter was closed and that nothing criminal was found by anyone. Miller said he called Kase's office for confirmation but did not get a response.
David Wald, a spokesman for the state Attorney General's Office, said Thursday that it is their policy to neither confirm nor deny investigations, and he could not answer any questions about what led up to the subpoena and what the office was looking into. Sgt. Brian Polite, a State Police spokesman, and Larry Hajna, a DEP spokesman, referred all calls to the Attorney General's Office.
The information requested included bids, inspection records and checks between the township; Mott Associates, the engineering company that designed the project; Lafayette Utility Construction Co., which built the project; and the DEP. The subpoena did not specify why Kase wanted the records, except that the information would be presented to a state grand jury in August.
The project drew criticism from several West Atlantic City residents last year after a May storm flooded the neighborhood. One resident, Richard Black, organized a petition that drew about 100 signatures and sent it to the DEP. Reached on Friday, Black said he has no idea what is going on.
Mayor James "Sonny" McCullough said he hopes the return of the documents puts the issue at rest.
Miller and Deputy Mayor Stanley "Jake" Glassey said they want to move on and focus on a proposal to further stabilize the weak sections of the dune with several gabions, or large, rock-filled baskets. The gabion proposal was submitted to the DEP for approval last year.
The township's stabilization plan is still being reviewed, and the DEP is working with The Richard Stockton College of New Jersey and the Stevens Institute of Technology on the broader issue of what approach works best to protect properties and roads in tidal areas with small beaches, Hajna said.
Hajna also said a violation notice the DEP sent the township last year has not been resolved. The notice, sent in August 2008, said the township did not submit a public access plan for the project and did not follow its coastal building permit.
Contact Michelle Lee:
609-272-7256
Posted in Atlantic on Sunday, November 1, 2009 2:10 am
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