How will the proposed DI saltwater mitigation bank work?
Daniel Island could soon be home to the largest saltwater restoration project in the history of South Carolina - if a proposed 134-acre saltwater mitigation bank is approved by the Army Corps of Engineers (ACOE) for the island’s southwestern side. A public comment period on the project was recently announced by the ACOE and will continue through February 13.
The land under consideration for the mitigation bank is part of a 1300-acre tract owned by the State Ports Authority (SPA) on Daniel Island. SPA officials, including President/CEO Jim Newsome, met with media representatives last week to provide details on how the project will work. If the plan comes to fruition, it will be the second saltwater mitigation bank currently operating in the state (the other, a smaller site, is located in Beaufort).
“There is a lot of creativity that has gone into this,” said Newsome. “And I think it’s good for the port, because we get some value out of it, probably the best value we can recover in terms of the proceeds from the mitigation bank, and I think it’s good for the community, because it’s a relatively minimal development.”
The idea for the bank was originally proposed by the Lord Berkeley Conservation Trust (LBCT), noted Patrick Moore, the SPA’s environmental manager.
‘We have a lot of people who have ideas for property we own,” said Moore. “And nine out of 10 times, they don’t work out for one reason or another. So when Lord Berkeley came to us and said here’s this piece of property that you all own on Daniel Island, and we think it would make a great saltwater mitigation bank, we thanked them for their time...But over time, we started looking into it and all of the things that would keep us from doing it just weren’t there. And it made more and more sense.”
“We’ve been involved in some mitigation projects and thought that would really be a neat spot, to restore it to what it used to be and at the same time have macroeconomic benefits,” said Raleigh West, LBCT executive director. “...It’s a good opportunity to solve some issues on both ends of the spectrum.”
MITIGATION BANK DEFINED
The term “mitigation” has been defined as the act of making a condition or consequence less severe – and that is exactly how the bank proposed for Daniel Island would be used. The bank will offset developer impacts to saltwater wetlands in other locations, explained Moore.
“The idea is you need to build something – a road or a project – and you need to impact jurisdictional waters in the United States that are saltwater wetlands,” he said. “The Corps (of Engineers) makes this determination that it’s an unavoidable impact that is in the public interest. At that point you are allowed to fill it...but you have to offset that impact by improving or creating the same amount of wetlands or more somewhere else.”
Developers would be able to purchase credits from the saltwater mitigation bank, using a mitigation equation determined by the ACOE, in exchange for those impacts. The Daniel Island location would provide a much-needed resource, added Moore.
“There are no saltwater mitigation banks in the service area of Charleston harbor. If you want to impact a saltwater wetland (now) you have to come up with your own plan from scratch to go and offset that impact. And that’s very difficult to do and very difficult to get approved.”
For decades, the 134-acre parcel on Daniel Island was used to manage dredge materials by the SPA and then was farmed for another 20 years or so, added Moore. There has been no activity on the land for about the last 15 years. As per the mitigation bank plan, the parcel will be cleared of vegetation and spartina grass will be planted. Additionally, about one million cubic yards of dirt will be moved from the bank over an existing dike into an active dredge spoil area just south of the project site. The clearing of dirt will allow the tide to fill into the area twice a day, said Moore, restoring a 1930s era natural creek and the rest of the property to its original condition. Eventually, the area would be accessible by the public for passive recreation.
“The mitigation bank will just be open marsh,” added Moore. “...Once its fully restored and all the credits have been sold, there will be 115 acres of publicly accessible marsh...You can go fish there, you can go kayak there. It’s just like any other patch of marsh.”
THE PORTS REMAINING DI ACREAGE
For a number of years, the SPA has been working to sell or dispose of land on Daniel Island that it does not need for port operations. According to Newsome, they plan to keep just over 1000 acres for dredging.
“We’re going to need this area for a long time,” he said. “...Obviously, if this is not needed for dredge disposal that opens up a lot of possibilities. But the reality is that it is a key component of our dredge disposal area.”
“It’s critical,” added Moore.
Of their remaining 300 acres, 50 have been set aside in a long-term lease to the State’s Parks, Tourism and Recreation Department, a parcel that will connect to the new mitigation bank area.
“That would be good for fields, baseball fields, soccer fields, that sort of thing,” noted Moore, of the PRT land.
Another 36 acres earmarked for single-family residential development will be placed on the market this year on the northwestern end of the SPA property, said Newsome. This parcel is located on the Cooper River side near Daniel Island’s Cochran Park neighborhood. The state legislature has extended the deadline for the port to sell its unneeded property a number of times.
“It’s just that we wanted some of these other things to get done,” explained Newsome. “And now this is the last domino. We try to take it a step at a time. Our philosophy is not to own real estate that we don’t operate. That has pretty consistently been our board’s position and my position since I’ve been here.”
Newsome said the SPA has also worked closely with legislative representatives Sen. Larry Grooms and Rep. Jim Merrill, who both serve on the Port’s Review Oversight Committee, to come up with a good plan for their Daniel Island property. He is confident the proposed mitigation bank will be of benefit to all involved.
“This is a good solution,” Newsome added.
“It’s a real benefit for the Daniel Island community,” added West, who credited Sen. Grooms for his efforts on the project. “And then you tack on the PRT property – it could be one of the largest urban parks in Charleston...The idea is it will be in the public domain in some fashion. When you put it all together, you’ll have about a 180-acre park right in the City of Charleston on the harbor...It’s a step in the right direction...We do a piece now, and it doesn’t mean we can’t add to it down the road.”
THE SANFORD PARK PROPOSAL
With regards to a recent proposal by Rep. Mark Sanford to utilize a sizeable portion of the port’s Daniel Island land for a large-scale park, both Newsome and Clint Eisenhaur, the SPA’s senior vice president of external affairs, expressed reservations about the idea’s feasibility.
“I don’t know if it has the support of the Daniel Island community,” said Newsome. “...(Rep. Sanford) did call us. He told us this was important to him. I want to make that very clear.”
“His concept is great,” added Eisenhaur. “It’s inarguable that it would be a huge benefit to the citizens of the entire area. But it’s not practical under the current conditions or future conditions.”
Sanford still holds out hope.
“This park is not about a 25-year vision of what the Charleston and tri-county area would look like, but rather a 100-year snapshot of what we want home to look like,” said Sanford. “…Certainly, in the near term, the Ports Authority will have mitigation and dredge needs. There are Corps of Engineer limitations on how long those needs can be met on this property.”
To provide comments on the proposed saltwater mitigation bank to the Army Corps of Engineers, visit http://www.sac.usace.army.mil/Missions/Regulatory/PublicNotices.