Port Dolphin funds refuel town coffers

For the town, a $500,000 check from Port Dolphin LLC has been in the pipeline — i.e. an escrow account — since April.

But last week, the town got the check from the Oslo, Norway,-based company, which reimburses the town for its expenses related to developing and permitting sand-borrow areas in the Gulf of Mexico in advance of the placement of a $1 billion liquid natural-gas pipeline.

“It’s a significant development because it reimburses the town for money that it has already spent, and it sets in motion the next potential reimbursement that could be made after we place the sand,” said Longboat Key Public Works Director Juan Florensa.

The town initially opposed the placement of the proposed 42-mile pipeline, which will run to the north of Anna Maria Island, because it would run through the same white sand that Longboat Key has used as a high-quality white sand source. The Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) will not allow a pipeline to be placed over valuable sand that could be used to restore and protect state beaches. In September 2009, the town agreed that it would not object to the pipeline placement if Port Dolphin would help remove sand for the island’s next beach renourishment project and help pay for its removal and permitting costs.

The town is eligible for an additional $5 million pending FDEP approval of the Port Dolphin project. The funds have not yet been deposited into an escrow account.

Although Port Dolphin obtained permits and licenses necessary for the project, Port Dolphin decided last March to delay construction of the project. The company has until the end of March 2012 to defer the timeframe for another year, move forward with the project or cancel the project. The current deadline for the town’s removal of sand from this burrow area is June 2013.