Lawsuit seeks to protect Cainhoy wetlands, limit development

Plans for the development of the 9,000-plus acre Point Hope community on the Cainhoy peninsula could change drastically if local conservation groups win a lawsuit filed Aug. 17 against the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers, the Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and several federal officials in their governmental capacities.

 

The South Carolina Coastal Conservation League, Charleston Waterkeeper and the South Carolina Wildlife Federation allege in the suit that the Corps violated the federal Clean Water Act by issuing a wetland permit “authorizing the filling of approximately 180 acres of ecologically-valuable wetlands” for the construction of the planned-use development -- a mixed-use residential and commercial development that includes Point Hope and the additional areas on the north side of Clements Ferry Road identified as the “Cainhoy Tract” on the map on page 12.

 

The permit was issued in May of this year. 

 

Point Hope and the rest of the Cainhoy Tract, formerly known as the Cainhoy Plantation, includes 9,000-plus acres that stretch from the southern tip of the Cainhoy Peninsula to the Francis Marion Forest and from the Wando River to the Cooper River. 

 

The City of Charleston approved the planned-used development for Point Hope in 2014. The Philip Simmons High School, Middle School and Elementary school are already operating in the development, as is Publix, a Refuel and numerous other businesses. Several single-family and multifamily residential communities are complete in the areas near Clements Ferry Road and residents are living there. The city approved 18,000 residential units for the tract, but the developers say they plan to build only half of the approved units.

 

The suit alleges that the Corps, and the EPA as the agency responsible for implementing the permitting process, are required to approve a plan that is the “least environmentally damaging practicable alternative” and that the Corps could have approved a plan that would fulfill the “project purpose by creating the same number of housing units while avoiding entirely or dramatically lessening wetland impacts.”

 

The Coastal Conservation League offered several alternative plans that can be viewed on their website (bit.ly/3cbduIj) that concentrate most of the development along Clements Ferry Road and away from the Wando and Cooper rivers.

 

The developer, although not named in the lawsuit, disagrees with the facts as alleged. According to a written statement provided by DI Development Company, the development team, as part of the Corps wetlands permit process, conducted “a full survey of all cultural resources and archeological sites, wildlife habitat and endangered species and wetlands delineation of the entire acreage.”  This process took approximately eight years, the statement said.

 

The developer’s statement further states that the wetland permit only impacts 4% of the property’s total wetlands, mainly to widen existing timber roads, to provide connectivity and efficiencies in development and to provide for clustering of homes. 

 

A DI Development Company representative described the Coastal Conservation League plans as “not feasible or practicable and it crowds all development in a highly dense corridor immediately on Clements Ferry.” 

 

The suit also alleges that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service unlawfully issued a “Biological Opinion” that will negatively impact the endangered red-cockaded woodpeckers in the area and that the development will destroy or impair sites eligible for the National Register of Historic Places, will cause flooding problems, and will threaten the Jack Primus community – a historic and culturally significant Black post-Civil War settlement.

 

The conservation groups are asking the court to declare that the defendants violated applicable laws, to vacate the Clean Water Act permit and the Biological Opinion and to prevent the defendants from taking actions to dredge or fill wetlands until they comply with all applicable laws. The conservation groups are represented by the Southern Environmental Law Center. 

 

In a statement released on the SELC website, Jason Crowley, senior director of communities and transportation at the Coastal Conservation League, said, “With more practical ways to develop this property, it doesn’t make sense that the Corps would approve the destruction and removal of endangered species and impact hundreds of acres of wetlands in order to place thousands of homes in a vulnerable floodplain.” 

 

The statement issued by the developer disagrees with that assessment and states that the land set aside in Point Hope has created the largest conservation easement in the City of Charleston. 

 

The developer’s statement notes, “Approximately 4,500 acres or half of the 9,000 acre property will remain undeveloped as protected wetlands, buffers and natural areas, including a 650+ acre professionally-managed nature sanctuary. Thousands of acres of protected wetlands, wildlife corridors and buffers will maintain continuous links between the property and the Francis Marion National Forest, as well as connections between estuarine systems. Of the remaining developable acres, approximately 1,000 acres will become recreational open space, parks and trails that are open to the public.”

 

An EPA spokesperson declined to comment on ongoing litigation. Emails to spokespersons for the Corps and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service seeking comment on the lawsuit were not answered prior to print. The federal defendants have 60 days to file an answer to the complaint.