Feb. 27, 2002 – Environmental regulators' temporary halt of construction work on a dock at Lovango Cay because of damage to a swath of close-in coral may mean that the surrounding reefs will be better protected in the future, according to the attorney for the entity building the dock.
Action this week by Planning and Natural Resource Department officials could lead to a long-term plan to install new moorings and take other protective steps in the area, a popular stop for daysails and snorkeler tours, said Tom Bolt, the attorney for the Joseph John Markus Trust, which is trying to build the dock.
PNR inspectors temporarily stopped construction work this week on the 80-foot concrete dock on Lovango Cay, a sparsely populated islet northwest of St. John. They were enforcing a cease-and-desist order signed by PNR Commissioner Dean Plaskett, who cited the lack of a proper environmental monitor for the project and stated that the Markus Trust needed to post a $1 million surety bond.
The construction work could resume as early as next week after the Markus Trust meets those conditions and finalizes a remediation plan with the Coastal Zone Management Committee to repair damaged coral and protect the reef better it in the future, Bolt said Wednesday.
"We've done everything we can to work with CZM to address their concerns," Bolt said. "Hopefully, this long-term plan will serve as a model for other developments on the off-shore cays."
The Markus Trust has permits to rebuild a hurricane-damaged home on Lovango Cay and to build the dock there. An environmental inspection of the construction site last month found that about 8,700 square-feet of the sea floor had been impacted, according to the PNR report.
The environmental inspector, who was contracted by the Markus Trust, found that some reef areas had broken coral and others were being smothered under sand kicked up by the propeller wash of the Boyson Inc. barge from St. John that transported construction materials to the cay and then unloaded them at the site. The inspector informed PNR, which then sent its own inspectors, who reported similar findings.
On Feb. 4, Planning and Natural Resources levied a fine of $2.9 million jointly against the Markus Trust and Boyson Inc. in connection with the coral damage. Both parties reportedly have appealed the fine, and PNR officials have scheduled a meeting with Markus and Boyson officials on Monday to discuss a possible settlement.
The trust has hired a new environmental consultant, Adam Quandt of the University of the Virgin Islands Marine Science Center, and it should have the $1 million surety bond secured yet this week, Bolt said.
