Re: Fwd: FW: LSJ

This note, thanks to Choice VI came in late Friday. It raised as many questions as it answered. I just called Amy to go over them. She is on her way to STT. She is going to Fish & Wildlife this morning for other business. Their office is right near us. She is going to call me when she is done and I will have her come by our office.

Sorry this has taken me so long to get back to you.  I am still bombarded with transition team issues along with my already more than busy schedule, everyone wants to complain about how slow everything is going, and I am running into the same issues myself.

COE

I will be talking with Jose Cedano later this morning.  He has told me that he should have an answer later on this morning as to whether or not he will be taking the Virgin Islands back over.  We will be far better off if he does because he does not have the prejudice against the project Vivian seems to have.  I thing we should be in pretty good shape with what we have in at the moment, and he should be able to act on the information we have submitted.  But I do think you and I should go and visit him and talk through everything to refresh his memory.

My cost for the visit will be approximately $1000 plus airfare which is right now running at $185.00 round trip St. Croix/San Juan.

Beach Re-nourishment

The real issue we need to first determine is what they are going to define as “beach” under their jurisdiction.  I can see Fish and Wildlife having jurisdiction or even interest in the nourishment if it is place within area that are potential turtle nesting habitats, wetlands or wildlife habitats.  The placement of sand on the upper portions of the beach beyond where it could end up in the sea, except under the worst sea conditions should not present problem with permitting.  The placement of the appropriate type of sand could in fact “enhance the beach for turtle nesting activities.

Our biggest issue we face is we have to get them off the beach with vehicles.  This has been an on going issue and the beach continues to be a thoroughfare.  This not only endangers nest which are already in the ground, it also compacts the sand and makes it less favorable for nesting, and it is something we have continued to represent we will stop doing. 

As I a sure you are aware “shorelines’ are defined in the VI Code as ..”the area along the coastline of the Virgin Islands from the seaward line of low tide, running inland a distance of fifty feet, or to the extreme seaward boundary of the natural vegetation which spreads continuously inland, or to the natural barrier, whichever is the shortest distance. 

There is nothing in the Environmental Laws and Regulations of the Virgin Islands nor in the Zoning Code as it relates to beach nourishment.  Unfortunately it is one of those items which is “up in the air” as to what is required.  It gives David Olsen a large amount of leeway in determining what he requires. CZM fortunately is defined and it should require no more than a minor permit.

I would think the best course of action will be to first go ahead and get the grain size analysis done of both the existing beach sand and the Barbuda sand.  I would suggest that the sample of the existing sand be taken out of the water rather than off the beach seeing that there has been so much activity there and much of what is on the beach is “contaminated” with finer caliche type materials.    I know that there has been some placement of inappropriate material on the beach in the past. 

We should then go and talk to David Olsen.  I believe if we keep the sand out of the area of impact of the sea, we should not have to do current studies and the like.  We do have some fairly good information right now, but we do not have full blown current studies of the area to allow for the placement of sand to the waterline.

Our biggest issue with the nourishment will be the Turtles.

RO

I have a meeting with David Simone on another issue on Monday and will inquire about what he would like us to do to start expanding our TPDES permit.

I look forward to hearing form you on these issues and I will let you know what I hear from Jose Cedano.

Amy