April 7, 2009 — The push for additional dredging in Charlotte Amalie harbor was tempered Tuesday night by some heated testimony from residents who opposed the placing of more than 150,000 cubic yards of sediment in the middle of Lindbergh Bay.
The dredging of the harbor — a joint project between the V.I. Port Authority and West Indian Co. Ltd — will allow for a new, larger Genesis class cruise ship to call on St. Thomas, replacing another in the Royal Caribbean fleet that has been relocated to the Mediterranean. The dredging spoils will be transported by barge from the harbor and funneled into the infamous Lindbergh Bay dredge hole — a 35-foot hole which some experts say has impacted fish and wildlife in the area and increased beach erosion since its creation in the 1930s. (See: "Larger Cruise Ships on the Horizon as Dredging Plans Progress.")
The project's plans calls for the hole to be filled up to 24 feet, falling shy of the seagrass beds, conch and other organisms that have been repopulating the fringes, according to local environmentalist Amy Dempsey. Speaking during the Coastal Zone Management Committee meeting Tuesday to consider the project application, Dempsey said filling up the hole won’t stop all the erosion, but it would help improve the bay's water quality and actually boost the growth of marine life.
The throngs of residents packed into the V.I. Port Authority conference room disagreed, with many saying that there's really no way to know what's going to happen if the hole is filled. Others said dredging the harbor and dumping the spoils in the bay would bring in contaminants such as arsenic and copper.
A few residents said that in bad weather, the "sedimentation plume" generated by the spoils would spread across the island's waters from the east to west ends. Petitions presented during the meeting opposing the project contained more than 1,000 signatures, community members said.
For about three days — from March 30 to April 1 — a study conducted by the Coalition to Save Lindbergh Bay showed that there were "vast seagrass beds" around the bay, "thousands upon thousands" of baby conch and fish species in the area, according to representatives from the group. The bay is rebuilding, and it would be counterproductive to bring in a blanket of toxic sediment that would kill off the organisms currently re-colonizing the area, they said.
But scientists working on the project said only a portion of the dredge site — right near the WICO dock — contained toxic material, and that part has since been eliminated from the scope of work. A majority of the sediment samples taken from the remaining portions of the dredge site match samples taken from Lindbergh Bay, which both contain low levels of mercury and lead, they added.
Meanwhile, WICO head Edward Thomas Sr. said suggestions from the public about alternate dumping sites have been explored, but aren't really feasible. Included among the options was ocean dumping, which, according to conversations with the U.S. Army Corps. of Engineers, would be wrapped up in a long permitting process and stalled by years of finding the right site, he explained. Meanwhile, neighboring islands such as St. Martin and the Bahamas are already in the dredging process, or in the middle of building new piers, to accommodate the Genesis ships, which would bring about 5,400 passengers to the Virgin Islands, Thomas said.
The first Genesis ship is set to begin weekly calls in December.
Furthermore, it was the federal government that suggested putting the spoils in the Lindbergh Bay dredge hole, Dempsey said. Others said the federal government would hit the territory with some heavy fines if toxic material was being transported and dumped. To prevent any further disintegration of the water quality, a turbidity barrier — basically a silt curtain that keeps the sediment from going out — will be set up, Dempsey added.
Stalley Bay was considered as an alternate dumping site, but was ruled out after studies revealed dense marine life in the area, the project team said.
Community members made it clear they weren't against the dredging, but pleaded with the CZM Committee to find another place to put the spoils. While some suggested lugging the material over to Thatch Cay, one CZM member suggested laying some of the sediment across the eroded areas of the beach. Many among the 25 testifiers also protested that much of the scientific information discussed during Tuesday's hearing was not in the recently submitted environmental assessment report.
St. Thomas resident Charles Consolvo also noted that archeological wrecks could be lying within the dredge site, and asked the committee to make sure thorough studies are conducted of the area, and that the artifacts remain protected as a condition of granting the permit.
Residents have seven days to submit comments on the proposal, and the CZM Committee has 30 days to make its final decision.
Back Talk
Share your reaction to this news with other Source readers. Please include headline, your name and city and state/country or island where you reside.
