The map represents the presented plans for Crab Bank. The blue outline indicates the town’s preferred placement of the dredge material.
The Town of Mount Pleasant and the United States Army Corps of Engineers are in continuing discussions regarding the placement of dredge material on Crab Bank. During the Jan. 12 Town Council meeting, the council voted unanimously in support of an alternate plan to re-nourish Crab Bank which protects Shem Creek from potential shallowing and supports the bird rookery.
Crab Bank is a man-made island near the mouth of Shem Creek in the Charleston Harbor created with 350,000 cubic yards of dredge material in the 1950s. Over time, the sediment has drifted northward closer to Shem Creek, raising concerns that adding more material will cause adverse effects.
The main concern is shallowing of Shem Creek that would affect boaters, businesses owners and recreational visitors. Also, if the added dredge material continues drifting and creates a land bridge, then the project fails as a bird sanctuary because predators will have access to the land, said Mayor Will Haynie.
The alternate plan presented by the town shifts the placement of the dredge material further south away from the mouth of Shem Creek.
“We’re not opposed to the rookery. We think a rookery has many positive benefits, but we don’t want the placement or the amount of dredge spoil to raise hazards for all of these aspects of the Mount Pleasant waterfront,” Haynie said. (Dredge spoil is unconsolidated, randomly mixed sediments composed of rock, soil, or shell.)
The town funded research from Joseph Von Nessen, a research economist with Darla Moore School of Business at the University of South Carolina who specializes in regional economics, and he presented his findings to the public at the January meeting.
Von Nessen discussed the economic impact that projected shallowing could have on Shem Creek’s businesses and Mount Pleasant’s economy. He surveyed local businesses and residents based on a projection of six feet of shallowing over a period of five years. The results of the research included an expected an annual loss of $126 million and 1,400 jobs lost if six feet of creek shallowing occurs. This would be 19 to 30 percent of the business activity for the Shem Creek Waterfront District.
USACE sent an email to local businesses regarding the research study conducted by Von Nessen which stated what it considered inaccuracies. The letter says the survey implies permanent shallowing in the near future, but that does not reflect USACE’s professional judgement or the agency’s modeling that determines the performance of Crab Bank upon completion of the project.
“We would have thought that the natural answer would be as long as we have a functioning rookery that meets the guidelines we would be happy to reduce the risk,” Haynie said. “What we seem to be getting is questions about validity.”
The email also states that USACE and the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, a partner in the project, are looking for a win-win situation and will be keeping the town informed as the construction date approaches.
During prior discussions regarding the placement of the dredge material, USACE created a plan to place the material further south, but town leaders did not think it was far enough away to mitigate the impacts they believe are coming in the future.
Cynthia Tarvin, an owner of Tarvin Seafood and two shrimp boats Miss Paula and Carolina Breeze, addressed the council at the January meeting with concerns regarding USACE’s plan. She said all local shrimping and fishing boats depend on getting in and out of the creek, which is already difficult during low tide and would be worse with increased shallowing.
She said this would not only affect shrimpers and fishers, but the local restaurants that rely on freshly caught seafood.
Jimmy Bagwell, Mount Pleasant resident for over 70 years, also stated concerns about the shallowing of Shem Creek.
“When people come over the bridge to Mount Pleasant, one of the first things they want to do is go to Shem Creek and take in the beauty and eat some seafood,” Bagwell said at the meeting.
He said the town needs to fight as hard as possible to make sure USACE’s plan is not used.
No other community members voiced their opinions about Crab Bank at the meeting.
The Link LonkJanuary 20, 2021 at 01:00AM
https://ift.tt/2LEZ3ze
Mount Pleasant pushes for alternative Crab Bank re-nourishment plan - Charleston Post Courier
https://ift.tt/2MkGRbk
Crab
No comments:
Post a Comment