Throngs of people crowded Lindbergh Bay Saturday afternoon to show their opposition to a $12 million plan that calls for dredging St. Thomas harbor and depositing the 162,000 cubic yards of material in Lindbergh Bay .
The Coalition to Save Lindbergh Bay rally pegged its environmental concerns to "Lindy" the leatherback turtle who laid her eggs on the beach in front of the Beachcomber Hotel Bar one evening in July, and the beach was filled with activity, speeches and entertainment all afternoon. Jell-O "turtle shots," T-shirts were on sale, along with turtle-themed eats and drinks, while Nicky Russell, Becca Darling Band, Tim West & Friends and Aben Marrero kept the beat.
However, the rally was serious. Attorney Jeffrey Weiss, counsel for the coalition, four senators, and other supporters.spoke of the ecological damage the bay would suffer if dredge spoils from Charlotte Amalie harbor are allowed to be dumped in the bay in an existing dredge hole.
A 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, was approved by the Coastal Zone Management Committee on May 5, signed by Gov. John deJongh Jr. on May 21 and ratified by the Senate on June 23. The $12 million plan calls for dredging the harbor and depositing the 162,000 cubic yards of material into an existing dredge hole in Lindbergh Bay.
The project would allow the largest cruise ship in the world — Royal Caribbean’s Oasis of the Seas — to begin calling on St. Thomas in December. Royal Caribbean will fund the cost of the dredging.
An alternative site on St. Croix has been suggested by Sen. Wayne James. James said Saturday he attended the Senate committee meeting when the permit was approved.
"I was shocked," he said. "But I knew there must be a solution. I used to swim in Lindbergh when I visited here as a child. I love this bay. I contacted Myron Allick of St. Croix Renaissance Co. about depositing the spoils on their land which is industrially zoned."
Allick was responsive, James said. While a final decision depends upon permit approvals, results of spoils test results, and other considerations, SCRG is considering placement of the dredge spoils on the bauxite tailings (red mud) on SCRG property.
Sens. Craig Barshinger, Adlah "Foncie" Donastorg and Shawn-Michael Malone, chairman of the Senate Planning and Environmental Protection committee, also spoke out against the project. Donastorg and Malone, along with Sen. Samuel Sanes, cast the three opposing votes on the project. Neither Barshinger nor James are members of the committee.
Meantime, two appeals with several appellants each were filed Aug. 5 before the Board of Land Use Appeals. Action of the appeals will delay the start of the project. It was scheduled to begin August 1, and has now been delayed until Sept. 1, Weiss said.
The Coalition to Save Lindbergh Bay along with Emerald Beach Resort, the Carib Beach Resort, the Island Beachcomber Hotel and Walker’s by the Sea restaurant are the appellants on one appeal, represented by Weiss as attorney.
The other appeal was filed by the National Wildlife Federation, Inc., the Virgin Islands Conservation Society, Inc. and the Environmental Association of St. Thomas-St. John, represented by attorney Terri Griffiths.
Weiss made clear that delay wasn’t why the appeal was filed. In fact, he said, "My best hope would be that the governor would step in and recommend utilizing the Renaissance offer, though I realize that would require a permit modification."The appeal was filed," he said, "because the CZM. committee and the government overstepped their bounds and didn’t comply with the law."
He said. "The law requires the CZM committee, the governor and the Legislature to approve only projects in the coastal zone that incorporate ‘to the maximum extent feasible’ mitigation measures to lessen or eliminate all adverse environmental impacts."
The appeal states the CZM. committee relied on "inaccurate, incorrect and incomplete information provided by the applicants with regard to the adverse effects to endangered, protected. species which are ….documented to be in the area."
The appeal also states the permit was backdated. Once final signatures are inked, there is a 45-day window to file an appeal with the Board. It lists 40 independent complaints
about the damage the spoils potentially could have on wildlife, including federally protected coral and sea turtles.
The appeal by the environmental groups cites many of the same concerns. "The CZM. decision violates the CZM. act, and is directly contrary to the public trust doctrine, and runs afoul of the Endangered Species Act," it states.
To begin with, "WICO and VIPA failed to provide the committee with a complete construction plan. Neither did they provide any studies with respect to disposal of dredge spoils.
The appeal details the environmental effects which would be suffered if the project goes forward, along with the fact that neither WICO nor VIPA demonstrated there were no reasonable alternative sites for the spoils, except Stalley Bay, a site widely known to contain elkhorn and staghorn coral.
The appeal asks for a reversal of the CZM decision, and requests a modification of the decision prohibiting the disposal of the dredge spoils in any waters within three miles of land in this territory. The Renaissance Group option, which has the endorsement of the St. Croix Environmental Association, would use the spoils in a terrestrial (not marine) environment.
The dredging cannot proceed without approval from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which has not yet been rendered, Weiss said.
Regarding the turtles, Renata Platenberg, wildlife biologist with the Department of Planning and Natural Resources, said the dredging project is perfectly legal as long as it does not impede the movement of the turtles coming and going from shore. The hatchlings buried beneath the Beachcomber sand aren’t due to become mobile until late September, Platenberg said.
