What Is That Boat In Front Of Rehoboth Beach?

(Apr 2016) … I have been asked this question dozens of times this weekend.  The ship off the coast of Rehoboth Beach is a survey ship. It is taking samples of the ocean floor for the permitting process for the Rehoboth Outfall.  The entire project has not been approved yet federally, but this is part of the process to get the permits to proceed.  

The ship looks strange from the beach because it is up on pylons, it is a lift boat.  So it looks like a small structure or oil rig.  There are many groups fighting this outfall project and it is still not written in stone that it will happen.  The city needs a lot of permits to do this project and some of the federal permits may be an issue according t0 some environmental groups.   One of the issues is the area the outfall pipe is supposed to discharge, could be designated a protected area for Sturgeon by NOAA.  

We will have to wait and see how the permits are handled by the federal government.  My own personal thoughts on this are to not do an outfall and send the water to the water companies now asking for it.  The outfall pipe currently in the Lewes canal could be removed much sooner with land application, and the cost would be much less.

Fish On!
Rich King