After multiple delays, the dredging of the Grover’s Mill Pond may be delayed again—this time by the residents the project will benefit the most. Hibernating turtles, spawning fish, and the endangered bald eagle refuse to alter their schedules to allow the township to clean the pond.##M:[more]##
As a result, the township can perform the cleaning process between August and November. According to township officials, it will not happen in 2007. The Department of Environmental Protection requires that the township first build a secure disposal site.
The site, expected to be constructed within Community Park, close to Big Bear Brook, will not be completed by August, according to Mayor Hsueh. “If we’re lucky, we can start construction of the disposal site,” says Hsueh.
After the site is built, it must be secured, and it must be tested to ensure that the ground around it will not be contaminated following the dredging. Then the township can go ahead with the dredging — provided it is done between August and November. Turtles hibernate in the pond between November 1 and April 1. The bald eagle restriction lasts from December 15 through May 14. Between May 1 and July 31, fish spawn in the pond, leaving a three-month window for the township to clean the pond without disrupting the pond’s inhabitants.
