Contractor fined for illegal beach dumping

The state Department of Environmental Protection said Agate Construction Co. of Ocean View illegally dumped debris on the beach in Deal.

DEAL --The state Department of Environmental Protection fined a subcontractor $14,000 for dumping debris on the beach in Deal earlier this year.

The fine against Agate Construction Co. of Ocean View accompanies an administrative order directing the company to clean up the remaining debris on the beach and near the water.

Specifically, the department said Agate violated the state's Coastal Area Facilities Review Act, the Waterfront Development Act and two DEP regulations regarding beach dumping.

The department characterized the company's conduct as "major," - the highest level under the Waterfront Development Act - that classifies the behavior as "any intentional, deliberate, purposeful, knowing or willful act or omission."

Construction material illegally dumped on Deal beach, state says

The company has 35 days to request a hearing if it decides to contest the fine.

The action stems from Agate's dumping of debris excavated from the Poplar Brook outfall pipe, which the company is upgrading, on the beach just south of where the work was ongoing on Feb. 18 and 19.

That debris, the DEP said, contained wood, concrete, asphalt, brick and clay that was dumped in the ocean and on the beach.

The dumping attracted the attention of environmental activists, including Clean Ocean Action, who reported the activity to the DEP and submitted photographs of the piles.

After a DEP inspector checked the site, Agate was ordered to remove the debris. Some was taken away from the beach and some was taken from the waterline to the head of the beach. That's the load that still has to be removed, according to the notice issued Tuesday by the DEP.

When Agate was first informed of the dumping it claimed it was not in violation and was merely doing work as prescribed the its contract with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.