The US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) and Dare County have confirmed that a second Miss Katie dredging permit that had been suspended for “noncompliance” has now been restored.
According to USACE Public Affairs Specialist Jed Cayton, the suspension of the second permit was lifted on Nov. 1 to allow dredging in the Oregon Inlet and Ocean Bar Channel. The first permit was lifted on Oct. 18 to facilitate dredging in Walter’s Slough and The Crack, according to the USACE.
In its Sept. 18 statement announcing the suspension of permits, the USACE stated that “it had suspended Dare County’s permits authorizing work in federal and non-federal channels in Oregon and Hatteras Inlet complexes due to a third recorded instance of noncompliance.” Dare County and USACE officials met on Sept. 25 to begin the process of restoring the suspended permits.
The Miss Katie, which is owned by EJE Dredging, arrived in Dare County in August 2022 and was built with $15 million in funding from the state as part of public-private partnership and a forgivable loan agreement. One top official at EJE is Jordan Hennessy, who has become a major and controversial figure in Dare County. A former top aide to then State Senator Bill Cook, he is a member of the Coastal Resources Commission and a was a principal in the Coastal Affordable Housing LLC, one of Dare County’s affordable housing partners until the county ended that relationship earlier this year.
