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Rocky shoreline a challenge for many

OBSERVER Photo by Mary Heyl Jim Neaf, who owns property at Sunset Bay, has already buried two large piles of gravel and rocks and had to create another large pile (pictured) just to access the water.

HANOVER — The Lake Erie shoreline in Hanover is noticeably different this summer. Property owners like Jim Neaf have noticed unusual amounts of rocks and gravel that washed up this spring, along with the usual lake debris. However, due to DEC regulations, it looks like the rocks must stay where they are for now.

In May 2016, the Hanover dredging project removed several thousand cubic yards of silt accumulation from the harbor to provide enhanced lake access for boaters.

Neaf, who owns property on South Shore Drive on Sunset Bay, admitted it was a great project, but the mess he believes it left behind is overwhelming. The issue brought multiple residents, including Neaf and his wife, to the town’s most recent board meeting on July 9.

“The lake has a lot of power to push things on shore,” he explained. “This winter, the winds pushed the water in the opposite direction (from winter 2016), and with it came all the stuff that had been dredged over there.”

Neaf referred to the Cattaraugus Creek break wall where, according to residents’ observations, much of the dredging took place. Neaf wrote to Congressman Reed’s office recently for answers.

“They said anything dredged should have been taken out two miles,” said Neaf. “But really, it wasn’t taken out more than 200 yards.”

Town Councilman Bernie Feldmann, Jr. said, “I have family that owns lakefront property throughout that area. All their beaches are compromised this year. Twenty to 30 feet of shoreline have been eroded, but is the stone from the dredging or would it have been there this spring no matter?”

Neaf has considered the possibility that the large amounts of stone and gravel may be the result of the high water levels noted this year. Feldmann stated, “I will be looking at the dredging permit and talking to the DEC about it. All the stone may very well be the result of dredging, but we need to learn more. No matter what, the town has to go through the DEC if we want to change the landscape near the water.”

This restriction prevents the town from transporting the excess stones elsewhere or contacting a service to come and remove them from the beach. Neaf believes that private property owners are under the same DEC restrictions, so he and others have taken matters into their own hands.

“I’ve dug two trenches to bury what I could,” he explained, motioning to his tractor, “and covered that area with sand. But the rest of it, I’ve just had to pile up here just to make a path for us to get down to the water.”

Unfortunately, not all property owners have the means to move the rocks and gravel.

“Of course, we’re private property owners here but there’s a public thoroughfare right along the water,” Neaf said. “This year, people definitely need shoes to walk along it.”

Neaf has been in contact with town councilman Edward Schintzius, who recently visited Neaf’s property to survey the mess.

Feldmann, too, commented on the challenges for private property owners.

“We can use town equipment to maintain our beach, but if we maintained everyone else’s, we’d never be able to get work done for the town. But if all the gravel is, in fact, the result of dredging, we would want to mitigate the problem for people as much as we could, if the DEC allows it.”

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