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Charlotte Amalie
Thursday, March 28, 2024
HomeNewsArchivesSecond Phase of Crown Bay Dredging Project Still in Limbo

Second Phase of Crown Bay Dredging Project Still in Limbo

V.I. Port Authority officials said Wednesday that the first phase of the Crown Bay Marina dredging project is complete, but the second phase – which they hoped would be finished at the beginning of this month – is still going through the permitting process.

During a special session in July, the V.I. Senate approved a Coastal Zone Management permit to dredge for cruise ships off St. Thomas. The permit allowed VIPA to dredge the East Gregorie Channel in Crown Bay and a section of the area along the northern portion of the pier at the Austin "Babe" Monsanto Marine Terminal.

At the board’s August meeting on St. Thomas, VIPA Executive Director Carlton “Ital” Dowe said the authority was moving ahead with negotiations on a contract for half the project, dredging the Crown Bay Marina, which already been cleared by the Army Corps of Engineers. Dowe said VIPA was negotiating with the one contractor that had responded when the project was put out to bid, and was waiting for the second half of the project – dredging the East Gregorie Channel – to get approval from one more agency before moving onto the Army Corps of Engineers.

Wednesday, VIPA staff reported to the board that the first phase of the project was complete, but permitting is still stalled for the second phase.

“The last correspondence I received was that the status had not changed,” VIPA Engineering Director Dale Gregory reported. “Twice a week I’m contacting them to see if we’ve received anything, because the Army Corps has said that once they get approval, it’s only a matter of days before we can get the permit.”

Gregory said the holdup is with the National Marine Fisheries Service.

“From what I’ve heard, the agency’s Puerto Rico office has made their comments and forwarded to the main office in Florida and now it’s up to some attorneys on the staff to formulate what the official position of the Fisheries Service is,” Gregory explained. “This is the last hurdle we have to overcome before the permit is issued.”

Dowe, who has testified that some cruise ships may cancel visits to St. Thomas if the dredging wasn’t complete before tourist season, added Wednesday that he has been told that more than 600 permits are also waiting for approval from the Army Corps.

To prevent the territory from losing millions in tourism dollars, VIPA officials are exploring an arrangement with the West Indian Company that would allow bigger ships destined for Crown Bay to berth at Havesight. Smaller ships would then be sent over to Crown Bay if everything is worked out with the cruise lines, according to officials.

The VIPA board also approved a $220,889 contract with CDR Maguire to complete environmental monitoring for the first phase of the project, which Gregory said is a condition of the original CZM permit.

In other news, board members also approved a contract with Veriown Energy for a solar system at the Henry E. Rohlsen Airport, comparable to the one installed on St. Thomas. The contract was approved during the board’s executive session, but officials said later that the company would be responsible for installing a 1.62 megawatt system at the airport. The project is expected to cut the authority’s energy costs by $20 million over 20 years.

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