Town receives $500k from Port Dolphin agreement

The town received a check for $500,000 as part of the Port Dolphin gas pipeline agreement, according to an email sent to the Longboat Key Town Commission by Public Works Director Juan Florensa.

Earlier this year, Port Dolphin LLC deposited $1 million into an escrow account to be split evenly between the town and Manatee County as reimbursement for placing the pipeline in an area of white sand upon which the communities depend for beach renourishment.

The town is eligible for an additional $5 million pending Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) approval of the Port Dolphin project. The funds have not yet been deposited into an escrow account, and Port Dolphin 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.

For more information, pick up a Dec. 15 copy of the Longboat Observer.

Contact Robin Hartill at [email protected].