The former chairman of the Edgartown dredge committee said this week that he would take full responsibility for an $8,000 fine levied against the town by the state Department of Environmental Protection for an unauthorized dredge project in Katama Bay early this year.

Norman Rankow, who was chairman of the dredge advisory committee when he ordered the private dredging project in January, said he would reimburse the town for the $8,160 penalty as a result of the dredging at 51 Witchwood Lane, which took place without state or town environmental permits. Mr. Rankow, who is a builder, was also working as a private contractor for the Witchwood Lane property at the time the dredging took place.

Town counsel Ronald Rappaport told the Edgartown selectmen Monday that the fine, which was originally $16,320, was reduced by 50 per cent because of “good faith actions promptly taken by the town.”

The work was done by the town dredge and the spoils were deposited in Katama Bay. Mr. Rankow has since resigned from the dredge committee. He is under investigation by the state ethics commission.

Mr. Rankow told the Gazette Thursday that he planned to reimburse the town that day. “I gave my word, and my word is my bond,” Mr. Rankow said. In March he had offered to pay for any legal fees or fines incurred by the town.

According to a letter to Mr. Rappaport from the Department of Environmental Protection, a habitat assessment report found no “intensive or long term impacts” from the dredging, but hardshell clam reseeding around the dredge site was recommended to offset any losses. Mr. Rappaport said the homeowners will pay for the reseeding.

“We hope, as far as the town goes, this is the end of the fallout from that activity,” Mr. Rappaport said.

Town administrator Pamela Dolby confirmed that the state ethics commission investigation of Mr. Rankow is ongoing.