The Save Lindbergh Bay Coalition plans a rally Aug. 8 in opposition to the West Indian Co. Ltd.’s plan to deposit dredged material in front of Lindbergh Bay hotels.
"It’s to raise awareness about the dumping," Emerald Beach Manager Joel Kling said Saturday. The rally will run from noon to 4 p.m. on the section of the beach that sits between the Best Western Emerald Beach and Island Beachcomber Hotels.
The rally will feature music, a raffle and T-shirt sales to raise money to continue the fight against the WICO plan.
Those at the rally also will work to come up with an alternative spot to dump the dredged materials. Kling said the St. Croix Renaissance site is suitable.
Kling is upset that WICO has not made public all the results of tests to determine what is in the material to be dredged, he said.
WICO President Edward Thomas could not be reached for comment.
In addition to Emerald Beach and Island Beachcomber, the Best Western Carib Beach Hotel also fronts on Lindbergh Bay. Kling said that for the anticipated five months it will take WICO to dump the dredged materials into Lindbergh Bay, the hotels will have to close.
"People are not coming here to watch TV all day," Kling said, indicating that most people vacation on St. Thomas because they want to go to the beach.
At issue are the noise from the machinery, the lights from round-the-clock work and the turbidity of the water that will make it unpleasant for beachgoers, Kling said. While WICO plans to install a turbidity curtain, Kling said that will not be sufficient to solve the problem.
He also spoke about the financial impact that closing the three hotels would have on the territory’s economy.
"The hotels in the bay generate $30 million a year," he said.
WICO received a Coastal Zone Management Permit to deposit 162,000 cubic yards of materials dredged from the area around its Havensight dock, the turning basin and the channel. Dredging will make the area by the dock 40 feet deep and the turning basin and channel 37 feet deep.
WICO wants to dredge the area to allow Royal Caribbean’s Oasis of the Seas to visit starting in December. The ship is so large, it can’t reach the Havensight dock unless WICO makes the area deeper.
The permit, required because it concerns submerged lands, was approved by the St. Thomas CZM Committee on May 5, signed by Gov. John deJongh Jr. on May 21 and ratified by the Senate on June 23.
WICO wants to deposit the material into an existing dredge hole in Lindbergh Bay. The existing hole was created in 1935 when the northern portion of Lindbergh Bay was dredged to fill land at what is now Cyril E. King Airport.
The project still needs an Army Corps of Engineers Permit.
Those seeking more information on the rally can call Kling at Emerald Beach Hotel, 777-8800.
