ST. THOMAS, US Virgin Islands — Above the water at Lindbergh Bay is a tranquil, palm-fringed beach. But the life under the surface of the ocean is what has a broad cross-section of the community concerned with a $12 million plan to dredge St. Thomas Harbor and deposit the spoils in the bay. The Daily News joined a group of divers to visit the area under Lindbergh Bay on Saturday to learn exactly what will be covered with meters of dirt, sand and debris if the project moves forward. The proposal is controversial because many people are concerned using the bay as a dump for the dredged spoils will not only damage the life under the bay but also destroy the pristine reefs that live less than a mile from the mouth of the harbor. The harbor must be dredged to allow the largest cruise ship in the world - Royal Caribbean's Oasis of the Seas - to begin calling on St. Thomas in December. The project is pending approval of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Despite widespread opposition, the permit already was approved by the St. Thomas CZM Committee, the governor and the Senate. If it moves forward, about 162,000 cubic yards of material from the bottom of the harbor will be dumped into an old dredge hole in Lindbergh Bay - created in 1935 when sand was removed to create the land base for St. Thomas's King Airport. Sen. Shawn-Michael Malone, chairman of the Committee on Planning and Environmental Protection, was among the divers on Saturday. The committee voted last week to subpoena the V.I. Port Authority, the West Indian Co. and the Coastal Zone Management Division of the Department of Planning and Natural Resources to provide lab reports that associated with the St. Thomas Harbor dredging project. The same committee voted to ratify the approved CZM permit in June. Far from the air conditioned chambers of the Senate, Malone and other divers looked out over calm water as the dive boat MR2 Duck, operated by Admiralty Dive Shop, planed over the water at the mouth of the bay. As the boat coasted down off a plane, a turtle poked its head from the surface. A moment later, Admiralty owner Duane Hausch pointed out another turtle to port. Before anchoring, divers spotted seven turtles - including a 6-foot leatherback - in less than 10 minutes. As the boat approached the center of the bay, the depth finder indicated a gradual increase in depth. Slowly, the depth increased from about 24 feet to a maximum depth of 32 feet as the boat glided across the bay. The dive boat was anchored along the eastern side of the hole. Divers plunged into the water. Nearby, another dive boat also dropped anchor. Snorklers paddled out from the beach to meet the boats. About 25 people had come to see the bottom of the bay for themselves. Underwater visibility was poor, allowing divers to only see about 10 feet. The bottom of the bay is far from lifeless. Conch are abundant across the basin. Many types of algae, crabs and some sea grass live on the bottom at a depth of 30 feet. The bottom is is mostly sand with little, if any, coral reef. Juvenile fish scattered in front of divers as they cruised slowly along the bottom. After about an hour, the divers resurfaced and boarded the boat. The second dive site they visited, an area less than a mile south of Lindbergh Bay at Flat Cay, teems with life. There, gardens of staghorn and elkhorn coral shelter thousands of tropical fish. Sunlight shimmered through the clear water like a windowpane. | | The $1.2 billion 1,180ft monster: Oasis of the Seas under construction at Aker Yards in Finland. Because of prevailing ocean currents, this is the area environmentalists fear will suffer from the dredging project. Large waves crash in Lindbergh Bay during storms. If storms disturb the project, people are concerned the sediment will cover nearby reefs. That could ultimately kill them. "I'm certain it will spoil at least one of our dive sites and affect all of them," Hausch said. Malone said the Senate's role in approving the project is over and the committee's vote in June is binding. However, he said he wanted to visit the site to better understand the environmental issues. Currently the project's fate lies with the Army Corps of Engineers, which must approve the dredging and dumping plan before it can move forward. There also have been two appeals filed with the Board of Land Use by environmental groups challenging the approval of the CZM permit. The National Wildlife Federation, the Virgin Islands Conservation Society and the Environmental Association of St. Thomas-St. John filed an appeal Aug. 5. The same day, the Coalition to Save Lindbergh Bay also filed an appeal with the board over the project. Both appeals argue that there is not enough scientific study to prove that the dumping will not adversely affect the bay. The complaints also maintain that the approved CZM permit violates the V.I. Code and the Federal Endangered Species Act. All the sea turtle species that make Lindbergh Bay home - as well as elkhorn and staghorn coral found at the nearby reefs - are protected under the federal laws. Their habitats are protected as well. No hearing date has been scheduled for either appeal. Many opposed to the project have questioned why other options have not been explored such as offshore dumping or shipping the dredged spoils elsewhere. In CZM meetings and the Senate hearing, senators and environmentalists questioned whether alternative options have been taken seriously. "Even if this does go forward, we can learn from this that we need better planning," Malone said. "We know these types of issues will arise. We cannot wait until the last minute to bring it to the Senate or Army Corps. In this event, the government failed." by Sean McCoy |
