Island’s future foggy at best, tangled in morass of rumor

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Advance correspondent

BrRLIkdqOkI kKgK - qhe future of Burlington Island is foggy at bestI tangled up in a morass of rumor and proposed developmentK AndI a slice the QMM acres on the Delaware River between Bristol and Burlington might also becoming a dumping ground for sediment from river dredgingK

A decision on pendingK

eere’s what’s falseW a rampDnt UuPRU tKDt D IRU-pURfit 0LGwestern company reached a AN millionI NM-year lease deal with the city and the board of island managers to denude the densely wooded island of trees and dirt to make room for the importation of sedimentK According to the rumorI the Burlington IsODnG 0DnDJHUV wHUH tR PDNH D splashy announcement about the deal at the ganK NR Burlington City council meetingK qhe million bucks was supposedly going to be split between the island managers and the cityK

It seemed a paltry sum for a NM-year lease and board mresiGHnt 0DUy :LUtK DnG bRDUG 0HPbHU 0uUUDy SRnVtHLn VDLG no such deal is in the worksK

“qhat’s a story that surfaces HvHUy IHw yHDUV. ,t’V IDOVH,” SRnstein saidK

eere’s what’s trueW Although tKH B,0’V FRntUDFt wLtK :RROman Community Development Association expired DecK PNI the board and Karen RobbinsI :RROPDn’V CEO, DUH VtLOO wRUNing together on prospects for developmentK In the pastI such attractions as a re-creation of a Lenape sillageI an amphitheaterI a boat-building school and other recreational activities were pURpRVHG. OnH RIfiFLDO HvHn VuJgested a light show beamed into the night skyK But Robbins said Rn 0RnGDy tKDt tKH VFRpH RI DF-

still tivities has been amendedK

A brochure of prospective activities will be available in the near futureK A water park and a zip line could be in the lineupI she saidK

qhe island managers and :RROPDn DLP tR DttUDFt pDyLnJ visitors to ease the tax burden of Burlington residentsK But if approvedI there are still numerous obstaclesW lack of development moneyI eagles’ nests - prohibited by federal law from being GLVtuUbHG - DnG FRnflLFtV RvHU how to develop the island while preserving its natural environmentK

qhen there’s the kew gersey DHpDUtPHnt RI EnvLURnPHntDO mrotectionI which Robbins believes is close to designating part of the island for sediment dumping by the Army Corps of EnJLnHHUV (Dn HntLUHOy GLIIHUHnt LVVuH tKDn tKH UuPRUHG IRU-pURfit sludgeFK qhat prospect has hung over the island for yearsK

River sediment is the mud brought from the bottom of the river when the Army Corps dredges for the purpose of deepening various channelsK Collected sediment hardens over time to a sort of moonscape consistencyI which can then be sold to developersK qhe original plan of the army corps was to deepen the river channel to accommodate larger cargo shipsK

“For yearsI the corps of engineers have dumped their sludge on the mennsylvania side and now it’s kew gersey’s turnK TKHUH wHUH DbRut fivH VLtHV considered but it looks like the state will settle on Burlington IslandI” Robbins saidK

TKDt’V nRt GHfinLtH, DFFRUGLnJ tR D VtDtH RIfiFLDO.

“ko site has been chosenI” said Lawrence eajnaI a spokesman for the kew gersey DepartPHnt RI EnvLURnPHntDO 3URtHFtionK

In

factI

he

saidI

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recent “emergency” dredging project done by the army corps removed a lot of sediment from the river and that bought the kew gersey DE3 DnG tKH VtDtH GHpDUtPHnt RI transportation some more time to weigh its optionsK qhe recent dredging materials were taken to malmyra CoveI which has since been struck from the list of possible sitesK

qhe remaining candidates areW Burlington IslandI BeverlyL DelancoI and CinnaminsonK