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Big ship experts discuss dredging
BY TIMOTHY O'HARA
keysnews.com
KEY WEST -- Residents'
concerns over where silt, sand and rock will be placed dominated a
Tuesday meeting addressing the Navy's plan to dredge the marina and area
surrounding the Outer Mole Pier.
The Florida Keys
National Marine Sanctuary's Large Ship Working Group met Tuesday to
discuss the dredging project, cruise ships and other issues that impact
the sanctuary.
The Navy recently
awarded the $32 million, 18-month project to the New Orleans-based
dredging company of Bean Styvesant LLC. The company will redig the
shipping channel to 32 feet deep, said Navy Capt. Jim Scholl, who is the
new commander of Naval Air Station Key West.
Dredging is slated to
begin the first week of December, Scholl said. The company will dredge
both sides of the pier and the whole length of the shipping channel, he
said.
The dredging project
will allow the Navy to bring destroyers and other big ships into port,
such as the destroyer Winston S. Churchill, which is scheduled to visit
next week but is forced to anchor offshore. The marina was last dredged
in the 1960s, Scholl said. Since then a large amount of silt has
accumulated in the marina, making it more shallow.
The rock and sand will
be taken 13 miles offshore and dumped, according to the Navy's plan.
Silt will be placed on Navy-owned property on Fleming Key, said Glenn
Schuster, a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers environmental engineer, who is
monitoring the project.
Schuster called the
rock and sand "clean" and "not contaminated." But he said there was not
enough time to conduct a thorough testing of the silt to see if it is
clean.
"There are traces of
stuff that are found in any urban area," Schuster said.
National Marine
Sanctuary officials and other state and federal environmental protection
agencies have been working with Navy officials in the planning of the
project. Sanctuary officials have uniformly endorsed the project, citing
that the removal of silt would be good for the reef. Coral can be
smothered by silt and die, said Anne McCarthy of the state Department of
Environmental Protection, who is environmental administrator for the
sanctuary.
The dredging project
comes as Navy officials want to better ready its troops at sea and be
able to deploy faster, as part of the Navy's Fleet Response Concept,
Scholl said. The plan also comes after the Navy moved its bombing and
other training facilities out of Puerto Rico.
The waters off Key
West could provide the Navy with a large training area. The project will
allow the Navy to bring in bigger ships, like destroyers, Scholl said.
"Key West is an
important strategic location," Scholl said. |
