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HomeNewsArchivesSenate Committee Approves Harbor Dredging Permit

Senate Committee Approves Harbor Dredging Permit

June 22, 2009 — After being absent for the majority of more than six hours of testimony during the Senate Committee on Planning and Environmental Protection hearing Monday, Senator Carlton "Ital" Dowe interrupted the proceedings to make a motion that the Senate ratify major Coastal Zone Management Permit CZT-4-09(W).
Senators had just finished hearing testimony from concerned community members opposing the permit when they were interrupted by Dowe's motion. The motion was seconded, forcing senators to vote immediately. Voting yes were Dowe and Sens. Patrick Simeon Sprauve, Michael Thurland and Alvin Williams Jr. Voting no were Sens. Adlah "Foncie" Donastorg, Shawn-Michael Malone and Samuel Sanes.
CZM had already approved the permit application filed by the West Indian Company Ltd. (WICO) and the V.I. Port Authority, allowing them to dredge a portion of Charlotte Amalie harbor and deposit the dredged spoil into a depression in Lindberg Bay, St. Thomas. (See "CZM Approves Depositing Sediment In Lindbergh Bay.")
CZM's unanimous approval drew major opposition from community members, organizations and Lindberg Bay businesses, including Best Western Caribe Beach Hotel and Best Western Emerald Beach Resort.
The first senate committee hearing took place May 28, but after hearing testimony from the applicants and the general public, the vote was postponed to give committee members more time to review all of the pertinent information regarding the permit. (See "Senate Committee Postpones Vote on Harbor Dredging.")
Edward Thomas, CEO of WICO, testified that there would be "temporary and minimal impact on the environment and the hotels at Lindberg Bay." Joel Kling, managing director of both Best Western properties, disagreed, stating that the hotels will sustain a huge economic blow if the dumping is permitted in Lindberg Bay.
"Guests do not come to our properties to be disturbed by noise, barges, cranes and floodlights," he said. "They will cancel their reservations or check out and stay elsewhere."
Craig Milan, senior vice president of land operations for Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines, addressed the committee regarding the larger Genesis-class ships and, in particular, the Oasis of the Seas, scheduled to make its first call to St. Thomas in December. According to Milan, the Oasis will carry 6,400 guests and 2,200 crew members at full capacity and will contribute $1.5 million to the local economy per visit.
"If the project is not approved, an alternative port of call outside of the U.S. territories will have to be used," Milan said.
Suggestions were made by senators and testifiers that the ship temporarily dock in Crown Bay or on St. Croix until an alternative dumping site can be found. According to Royal Caribbean, neither of these options is feasible and both would also require dredging, although to a lesser extent.
"Dock selection is not the port's decision," Milan told the committee. "We make that decision."
When questioned about the project's timeline, Thomas told Malone he first learned about the new ship and its potential calls to St. Thomas at the Seatrade Convention in March 2008. When Malone asked Milan how long he had known Royal Caribbean was building larger ships, he replied, "The company knew well before Seatrade, but Seatrade was where we made the first public announcement."
In fact, one of the engineers from CH2M HILL, Royal Caribbean's consultants on the project, stated during testimony at Monday's hearing that they had been working with Royal Caribbean on the Oasis since 2006.
Janice D. Hodge, CZM director, told the committee that she "cannot give 100-percent assurance that any project will not have effects," but that "sufficient cautionary measures have been put in place to minimize effects."
The permit application does not need to go before the full Senate, so the next step for WICO and VIPA will be to get approval from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers before work on the project can begin. According to Jennifer Jones, environmental attorney for the applicants, the federal permit process may be hampered. The dredge site in Charlotte Amalie harbor contains coral and, under the Endangered Species Act, if you are going to impact coral, either directly or indirectly, a "Section 7 consultation" may be required, entailing further scientific studies.
Thomas hopes to have a response from the Corps of Engineers by the end of this week. When asked if he would swim at Lindberg Bay, he replied, "I always have and will continue to do so."
Donastorg, visibly upset after the vote, said, "We should allow the process to be fully heard, not just railroad it through."
Malone, chairman of the committee, also opposed the choice of Lindberg Bay for the dumping site.
"I could not support the permit because the applicants did not demonstrate that they had exhausted all other options," he said. "It seems time and money outweighed preservation, health and safety."
Senate committee members present were Donastorg, Dowe, Malone, Sanes, Sprauve, Thurland and Williams, Jr. Sen. A.G. James was also present, although not a committee member.
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