North End Pump Station Project Moving Forward in Ocean City; Pipes to go on Sixth Street

Ocean City, NJ -- Ocean City is moving forward with its plans for the $8.7 million north-end pump station project, finally deciding to put the outfall pipes at Sixth Street, where it was originally proposed.

A new stormwater pumping station will be installed near Sixth Street and Bay Avenue in an effort to improve drainage from First to Eighth streets, from Asbury Avenue to the bay.

Ocean City received a $5 million FEMA grant for this project, the largest grant the city has ever received, officials said.

Based on feedback from neighbors, the city spent six months trying to get permission to move the outfall pipes to the Bayside Center. This included discussions with Cape May County, which owns the Bayside Center.

Following several months of discussions with representatives of permitting agencies, including the N.J. Department of Environmental Protection administration, the state Green Acres program and the Division of Land Use Regulation and Coastal Regulation, the city decided it was prudent to move forward with the project at the original proposed location, Business Administrator Jim Mallon said in a statement made during Thursday night’s council meeting and a press release issued Friday afternoon.

“Although not completely impossible, this change would have added significant time and expense to the project, and would have been a long uphill battle with no guarantee of approval,” Mallon said. “All of our government partners in this project acted professionally, understood the public’s concerns, and were open to the request to consider the Bayside Center, while honestly portraying the requirements facing the city. Ultimately, we decided that, along with facing time restrictions related to the permitting and the grant requirements, the residents of this entire neighborhood have waited long enough for this project to move forward. If the neighborhood wants to see relief any time in the foreseeable future, the city will have to stick to the initial plan.”

The project remains on the schedule outlined at a public meeting in November 2015. Pending final permits and successful bid submissions, construction could begin in late 2016.