Environmental Groups Request Comprehensive Assessments of Beach Dredging and Filling

Two prominent national environmental groups this week urged the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to halt preparations to dredge huge amounts of sand to temporarily widen beaches in North Carolina and Florida until adequate assessments are made of the cumulative impacts on nearshore marine ecosystems. North Carolina Environmental Defense and the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) have asked Army Corps district offices in Wilmington, N.C., and Jacksonville, Fla., to withhold approval of massive dredging projects until a comprehensive “programmatic” Environmental Impact Statement (P-EIS) can be conducted and alternatives are fully considered.

In recent years a series of strong hurricanes has accelerated the natural processes of sand movement in the southeastern coastal zone, leaving many beaches with little or no sand between structures and the surf. More than a dozen projects intended to dredge millions of cubic yards of muddy sand for dumping on inshore areas are at various stages of environmental review and are being assessed separately, despite serious cumulative threats to shallow-water reefs and other essential fish habitats. Massive dredge and fill operations also affect both inshore and offshore water quality, create large dredge craters offshore and may have a variety of cumulative impacts that are not detailed in typical environmental reviews.

In North Carolina, proposed projects would affect almost every mile of developed shoreline and threaten essential fish habitats for groupers, striped bass, summer flounder, bluefish and red drum, among others. “Proposed dredging projects constitute a wholesale alteration of the nearshore marine environment off North Carolina,” said Dr. Michelle Duval, staff scientist with Environmental Defense. “The impacts of the projects simply cannot be assessed by looking at each one separately.”

In Florida, proposed dredging projects may adversely affect shallow-water reefs that are federally designated as essential fish habitats for an array of species, including snappers, groupers and endangered sea turtles. “The six projects we currently are examining in Florida would bury more than 100 acres of nearshore reefs used by over 500 marine species, many as nursery habitats,” said Dr. Ken Lindeman, senior scientist for Environmental Defense. “These reefs are designated as ‘Habitat Areas of Particular Concern,’ the highest level of protection by federal fisheries managers.”

Federal law requires that cumulative impacts of projects must be assessed and that less damaging alternatives be fully considered. “None of these projects should be permitted until a comprehensive assessment of impacts and alternatives is conducted,” said Sarah Chasis, NRDC senior attorney.