Westmoreland County approves revetment and breakwater at Stratford Harbor for three years

The Westmoreland County Wetlands Board on Aug. 18 approved a three‑year permit for case 1494, a shoreline protection project at the Stratford Harbor Property Owners Association community beach that includes a 106‑foot armor‑stone revetment at the bank toe and a 60‑foot offshore breakwater with beach nourishment and wetland plantings.

Staff told the board the site is on the southern shore of the Potomac River and is a high‑energy shoreline with significant scouring. The staff report said the revetment would be about 6 feet high with a 1.5:1 slope and that the breakwater would be 18–22 feet wide with a 4‑foot apron and 4–5 feet of elevation above mean low water. The report noted the project proposes approximately 240 square feet of non‑vegetative wetland encroachment, about 80 square feet of dune or beach encroachment, 350 cubic yards of beach nourishment and roughly 2,800 square feet of wetland vegetation plantings.…