March 28, 2003 – With little debate, the Senate Planning and Environmental Protection Committee unanimously approved a minor Coastal Zone Management permit on Friday for the Westin St. John Resort to install a much longer intake pipe for its reverse-osmosis water desalination system.
The committee, meeting on St. John, spent several hours hashing over a minor CZM permit application from island resident Donald Sussman to built a private dock adjacent to his property in Great Cruz Bay, then unanimously approved it, too.
Sussman plans to build a T-shaped dock extending 35 feet out from the shore with a 40-foot cross-extension at the seaward end. His attorney, Paul Hoffman, said Sussman needs the dock because he plans to commute by boat to his job on St. Thomas. Sussman runs Trust Asset Management, an Economic Development Commission beneficiary.
The permit is for 10 years and will cost Sussman $3,000 year.
Legislative legal counsel Yvonne Tharpes told the senators that the environmental assessment report submitted with Sussman's CZM application addressed construction impacts but failed to provide information on impact to be caused by boats using the dock.
However, CZM's director, Janice Hodge, countered that "the potential for environmental damage is greater during construction." She indicated that data on the potential impact of Sussman's boat had been gathered by CZM staff but was not in the environmental assessment report.
Tharpes complained that CZM applications currently tend not to address use impacts.
Amy Dempsey of Bioimpact, the company that did the environmental assessment report for Sussman, said a longer dock would be better because it would put boats using the dock out into deeper water. However, she added, this was not an option in Great Cruz Bay, which also is home to the Westin Resort and is busy with boat traffic and filled with moorings.
St. Thomas architect Tracy Roberts, who worked for both Sussman and the Westin, testified that the Westin needs to install a 2,000-foot intake pipe for its reverse osmosis plant because the water quality closer to the shore is not good. The resort currently uses a 200-foot intake pipe.
"That bay has had poor water quality for some time," added Dempsey, who also wrote the Westin's environmental assessment report.
The intake pipe will rest on the sand and be held in place with sand screws so it can't shift and break apart during storms. The Westin will pay $5,000 a year for its CZM permit.
A third item that had initially been on the agenda, a request by Ron and Anne "Daisy" Klecan to renew their CZM permit for a dock on Lovango Cay, was withdrawn because the Klecans have sold the property. The new owners, Scott K. and Andrea J. Deike, plan to file for a permit at a later date.
Sen. Louis Hill, committee chair, presided at the meeting. Other committee members present were Sens. Roosevelt David, Carlton Dowe, Shawn-Michael Malone and Ronald Russell. Sens. Adlah "Foncie" Donastorg and Almando "Rocky" Liburd were excused.
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