The city has agreed to dole out $75,000 to settle a lawsuit brought by a dredging contractor who accused Rye officials of causing delays in a much-needed marina project.
H&L Contracting, a Long Island-based company, was hired by the city in October 2022 to dredge its municipal marina. But the $3.3 million project ran into immediate delays when the city failed to gain authorization to dump the dredged material, the January lawsuit claimed.
When the contractor attempted to start work in November 2023, the city had yet to contract Clean Earth, a waste management company, to treat and dispose of dredging materials, according to the Westchester Supreme Court filings.
Due to contamination in the sediment, the dredged material had to be taken offsite to a permitted facility.
Once the city reached an agreement on a contract with Clean Earth, H&L began the project but faced additional delays when Clean Earth initially refused to accept the material, according to the contractor.
In total, the dredging project was delayed 14 days and was not completed until January 2024. The delays led to cost overruns on the project, the contractor contended.
H&L Contracting sought $270,000 from the city in damages.
The city launched the dredging project in 2023 to address ongoing silt buildup in Milton Harbor, which had caused vessels to run aground in the water and caused limited access for boats along the harbor.
In 2022, the U.S. Coast Guard warned Rye that it would remove federal channel markers due to insufficient water depth.
