State DEP says bay moorings illegal

By Michael Dinan

Stamford Advocate

December 29, 2007

State environmental officials say a pair of Greenwich boaters may need a special permit to keep their docks in a downtown harbor, a possibility that could have far-reaching implications for the larger boating community.

According to the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection, state law requires Greenwich boaters Ian MacMillan and Frank Rupp to obtain a permit to moor their docks in an area of Greenwich Harbor known as Horseneck Bay. The heavily silted area, where Horseneck Creek empties into the harbor, is wedged between Roger Sherman Baldwin Park and Grass Island and has dozens of moorings.

The DEP Office of Long Island Sound Programs this year issued Notices of Violation to MacMillan and Rupp and a handful of others, saying their floating docks were being stored there illegally because they lacked the permit. State law says any structure located below the high-tide line must have a DEP permit. Most of those cited for the violations, including the Indian Harbor Yacht Club, immediately removed their floats.

But MacMillan said that because that area of Greenwich Harbor is a designated federal anchorage, and because he already holds town and federal permits to moor his floating docks there, he doesn't need the state's permission.

'The state is saying that there's this additional layer of red tape that's never been seen before,' said MacMillan, a central Greenwich resident.

Rupp could not be reached for comment.

The DEP got involved in the area when Save Our Shores, a nonprofit conservation group based in Greenwich, alerted them to so-called 'derelict' structures in Horseneck Bay.

Brian Thompson, director of the DEP Office of Long Island Sound Programs, said his agency's attempt to require permits for moorings in Horseneck Bay has led to larger questions about who has jurisdiction over the area.

'The bigger issue here is that there are other mooring permits issued by the town in that same area that may require state permitting,' Thompson said. 'There are many, many moorings in that area, and the town doesn't have the exclusive authority to issue permits there.'

According to Thompson, town officials now are collaborating with his agency to determine which moorings located there also may require the state permit.

'That's what the town is trying to help us determine, how many we have to deal with there,' Thompson said. 'I think, in part, they (town officials) weren't clear on the exact delineation of the federal anchorage area, so they just weren't entirely sure how many fell within the area versus outside.'

Fred Walters, superintendent of marine facilities for the Greenwich Department of Parks and Recreation, said the town initially argued that it had agreements with the federal government going back to the 1950's, when the public marina at Grass Island was developed.

'We never had any state involvement, not until now,' Walters said. 'We're not arguing with (state DEP officials). We're just saying, 'Give us the winter and let us work on this. Let us figure out who is in there.' '

MacMillan estimates 75 moorings are in the area.

Not everyone put up a fight when the DEP told them that the docks were illegal.

According to a copy of its Notice of Violation, the Indian Harbor Yacht Club had two docks and 10 smaller walkways illegally placed in Horseneck Bay. David Foster, general manager of the Indian Harbor Yacht Club, said that although the club had been using the area for winter storage for years, he immediately removed the club's floats.

'We spent a bunch of money that was not in the budget, but we got it done,' Foster said.

According to Thompson, the DEP frequently issues the Notices of Violation when residents complain about derelict structures in the water or during its own inspections.

Most recently, Cos Cob resident Jan Hansen, a dock builder, was cited for illegally storing floating docks and ramps in the Mianus River. According to the Notice of Violation issued to Hansen two months ago, the docks were affecting inter-tidal flats in the river. A DEP analyst noticed the structures when he was in the area, inspecting a similarly non-permitted docking structure owned by Greenwich lobstermen.

Hansen could not be reached for comment. According to Thompson, he removed the structures.

Jo Conboy, a town resident who serves as president of Save Our Shores, the agency that first complained to the DEP about Horseneck Bay, said her group was concerned by what appeared to be junk piling up in the harbor.

'Some people feel they're grandfathered into that area but no, you need permits,' Conboy said. 'You need approval from the DEP and, as far as the town goes, the town claims it has no jurisdiction in that area but they take no initiative to do anything for the harbor, and we feel it's beginning to look like a mess.'

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