Riviera Beach has cleared a significant hurdle on its path toward securing regulatory approval to establish three mooring fields in the Lake Worth Lagoon.
The Florida Department of Environmental Protection notified the Town of Palm Beach on Friday that it has issued state permits for the mooring fields.
Palm Beach’s Town Manager Kirk Blouin said the news came as a shock to the town, which had been told, by a town lobbyist who had spoken with a DEP official, that it would take between six months and two years for the DEP to complete its review process and reach a decision.
“You can imagine how surprised we were,” Blouin told the Palm Beach Civic Association on Monday.
Riviera Beach still needs a federal environmental permit and a submerged lands lease from the state before the mooring fields could become a reality.
Palm Beach strongly opposes Riviera Beach’s proposal to establish one of three mooring fields south of the Palm Beach/Lake Worth Inlet, about 500 feet from Palm Beach’s North End shoreline. The field could accommodate up to 100 boats and would extend from the southern turning basin of the Port of Palm Beach down to the Safe Harbor Rybovich Marina cross channel, according to documents Riviera Beach submitted to the state.
Mayor Danielle Moore and Town Council members have said the mooring field would be a nuisance for town residents while providing no benefit to Palm Beach.
Blouin said Riviera Beach is ill-equipped to enforce regulations related to waste dumping and is unlikely to respond to complaints about boats breaking free, light and noise pollution and trespassing.
“We believe Riveria Beach’s inability to manage and properly enforce it would be problematic for our residents,” Blouin has said. “As a result, the burden of enforcement will fall on the Town of Palm Beach.”
A mooring field is a legally defined area within a body of water, established by a local ordinance so a government can regulate activities within it.
Riviera Beach officials say mooring fields would help address the problem of derelict vessels and boaters’ dumping of waste into the lagoon. The proposed mooring areas are currently filled with vessels that routinely anchor above ecological areas and seagrasses.
The mooring fields also would ensure unobstructed and safe navigation for mariners while providing a revenue stream for the city, Riviera Beach officials say.
Palm Beach can appeal the DEP’s decision to award the permits by petitioning for an administrative hearing. There is a 14-day window to file that petition. It was not immediately clear on Monday when the 14-day period expires.
“There is the potential for us to appeal it,” Blouin said. “First, we are trying to figure out where the miscommunication occurred. We will be taking this to the Town Council to see if they want to appeal.”
The Town Council’s next scheduled meeting is Tuesday, May 13, at 9:30 a.m. In Town Hall.
Palm Beach will also be stepping up its efforts to communicate with the governor’s board of trustees, which has authority to deny or issue the submerged lands lease, Blouin said.
Palm Beach registered its objections to the plan with the state DEP and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which is reviewing Riviera Beach’s application for the federal permit. Palm Beach has retained the Akerman law firm in West Palm Beach to represent it in its opposition.
Blouin has said Palm Beach is proposing new state legislation that would prevent one municipality from being able to establish and manage a mooring field within the jurisdiction of another municipality.
Palm Beach is not opposed to the other two mooring fields, which would be located near Phil Foster Marine Park and near Peanut Island, Blouin said.
Keith Beaty, a North End resident who is chairman of the Civic Association’s Intracoastal/Lagoon Committee and a member of its Executive Committee, said Tuesday the Civic Association opposes Riviera Beach’s plan to operate a mooring field near the shore of Palm Beach.
“The Lake Worth Lagoon off the shores of the Town of Palm Beach is one of our area’s most important natural resources and we are opposed to putting any portion of it under the jurisdiction and control of another municipality that does not even share a boundary with the area,” Beaty said.
There are benefits and disadvantages to installing permanent boat moorings in such an area, Beaty said. Palm Beach residents and officials should have the opportunity to debate the issues and exercise control over what is done off the town’s shores.
“It sets a precedent that could be important for the use of these public or state-owned waters, as time goes forward, all along the boundaries of Palm Beach.”
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