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WTF? Hart-Miller Island Part Deux ?

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9K views 19 replies 15 participants last post by  DirtyFrank 
#1 ·
Anyone know anything about this?

Ecoregion World Map Organism Slope


Is this a bad joke?

I just got this email:

Hi Friends & Neighbors,
Please read and see photo! Thank you.
If you live, work or play on Back River, <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 /><st1:place u2:st="on">Middle River</st1:place>, Seneca Creek or the Gunpowder you need to attend this meeting! There is a proposal for the creation of <st1:place u2:st="on"><st1:placeName u2:st="on">Hart-Miller</st1:placeName> <st1:placeType u2:st="on">Island</st1:placeType></st1:place> 2 and that proposal will be discussed at this meeting. Residents of <st1:place u2:st="on">Middle River</st1:place> really need to be made aware of this meeting....spread the word.

Harbor Team Meeting
Thursday, April 14, 2011
<st1:place u2:st="on">Back River</st1:place> Wastewater Treatment Plant
8201 Eastern Avenue, <st1:place u2:st="on"><st1:City u2:st="on">Baltimore</st1:City>, <st1:State u2:st="on">MD</st1:State>, <st1:postalCode u2:st="on">21224</st1:postalCode></st1:place>.
6pm-8pm<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:eek:ffice:eek:ffice" /><o:p></o:p><?xml:namespace prefix = u1 /><u1:p></u1:p>
I have attached the graphic. Life on the water in your area would be dramatically changed with the addition of such a large structure. Feel free to post...like wildfire
 
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#2 ·
Ships are getting bigger and sit deeper in the water - the channels must be dredged so they do not hit bottom.

The dredge spoil has to go some where. A huge amount went to Popular Island but that is now finished.

Hart / Miller area is close to the areas that are dredged - short haul for the tugs / barges.
 
#5 ·
Skip-
I hear you but I think it would be vastly unfair to the residents of that area. They have already taken their fair share x100. When I was a in my teens the government folks paraded around to all the waterfront communities of East Baltimore Co. with pretty pictures to show how great HMI was going to be. I was quoted over and over "Once the level of the dike reaches 8 feet, we'll shut it down and it will be a recreational paradise. Image your kid on a ferris wheel eating his cotton candy while you are finishing 18 rounds of golf." Well we know it didnt stop at 8 feet and 'Imagine' was all the people got.
 
#7 ·
HMI last I heard was sinking from the weight of the heavy spoil.The only thing I remember beneficial is it is now Home to Aertic Terns and a couple other Northern species of Birds who habitat the area in Winter.Long gone are the days I remember wading in knee deep water between Hart and Miller. It is a boaters mecca on a nice Summer day Hundreds of boats there to swim,Sun and other activities however due to the wildlife and dangers associated w/the spoil inside People will not be allowed to go OVER the dunes from what I have heard...
ANOTHER spoil site within spittin distance from the origional THAT REALLY stinks(pardon the pun).If GUBMENT wants it it is difficult to stop em.doh:eek2:
 
#9 ·
I spoke with Ed Harwood the manager of Bowleys Marina this morning about the proposed Miller Island II. Ed said that this is only 1 of the proposed 18 sites. Unfortunately neither ED or me will be able to attend Thurs meeting but the topic well be addressed at our end of the month board meeting. I shutter to think of the impact the will have on our area. Thanks for the heads-up.
 
#10 ·
I went to the island for a field trip in high school 10 years ago. The Island was then set to be filled to capacity in 2012(i don't know what the time frame is now). Upon completion of the island it is to be opened with trails for hiking and birdwatching. The rest of the land is to be used for bird habitat. We were told the island is to be open for public use after it's completion. I also saw the testing results and process. If what I saw was true there isn't much toxic or polluting going on from the island. That's just the smoke they blew up our butts 10 years ago but I believe them. Coolest field trip I ever went on.I do oppose a second island. Aside from the effects to the ecosystem, Middle river is way busy to block part of it's entrance with an island.
 
#14 ·
The Harbor Team meetings have been going on since HMI was created the first time. The meetings are not a forum to protest where NOT to put the dredge but is a group TO find areas where to put it. You should only attend if you have a constuctive idea where to put it.
 
#15 ·
People fought the first dike before it was built. All kind of reasons were brought up for why not to build a dike there. After the dike was under way, things did change in that area. Grasses grew, water clarity improved, fishing improved, and people used the new dike beaches like it was Ocean City . Boats on the weekends were everywhere on the one side. The mean reason given to not build the dike was the possibility of stopping the flow on the Back river and ruining the water . No one can predict what will happen until it is built.
 
#17 ·
Grasses grew, water clarity improved, fishing improved, and people used the new dike beaches like it was Ocean City .
Before the dike there was more beaches, and they were widely used. Now everyone has to squeeze into a small area so it looks like OC. I would also like to see your data on the increased grasses and water quality. Thanks.
 
#16 ·
Enough is enough. HMI has been going on for years. It is someone elses turn to put up with muddy water, continuous sediment runoff, and lost fishing opportunities. I used to fish the pass between Hart and Miller, it was one of the best striper spots in the upper bay. I think somone still wants a northern bay crossing and they are building it one island at a time.

The waters of Baltimore County have had enough abuse. The decades of Hart and Miller, Pleasure Island and the raping of the bay's bottom over years and years of dredging ancient oyster shell to support commercial oystering. DNR's proposed destruction of Man O War Shoal to support their oyster programs.

I keep hearing from the DNR that the cost of a barge to the mouth of the Chester, Choptank, South, Severn and Magothy is about the same as a barge going to Middle River, Gunpowder or Bush from the harbor. I can only imagine what the hearings would be like for those rivers. Let's face it, they already know the response. That's why you won't see this waste impoundment built at the Mouth of the Severn or off SPSP.

Hey Skip, let me know your thoughts on a 2000 acre island just off the bay bridge or the mouth of South River. I bet everyone from the middle bay would love an island for camping and nature hikes at Bloody Point or how about land locking Thomas Point Light to protect it from future storms and destruction from sitting in water.

It's all ridiculous in your back yard isn't it.
 
#18 ·
Personally experienced the the clear water, the beach had been completed. Would get there in the morning and you could see ten feet down. Beer bottles and cans. The grass was so thick on one side ,the people had to avoid the area. Haven't been there in years, what I saw was after they built the beach. From what I've heard, it's still a popular place.
 
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