  
     
|
|
Spring/Summer 2002 Newsletter
|
Marshland Protection Cases:
Appeal heard in Man Head Marina Permit
A site too small
From April 9 through 11, Administrative Law Judge Jesse Altman presided over
the appeal of a Coastal Marshlands Protection Act permit authorizing the
construction of a marina to be located on the western bank of the
Intracoastal Waterway adjacent to the Torras Causeway which connects
Brunswick and St. Simons Island, Georgia. The appeal was filed by the
Southern Environmental Law Center representing five coastal environmental
groups, including the Center for a Sustainable Coast. The four other
organizations are: Altamaha Riverkeeper, Glynn Environmental Coalition,
Residents United for Planning and Action, and the local group of the Sierra
Club. At issue are various threats to water quality, aquatic habitat, and
public safety that result from the marinašs size and location.
The marina permit authorizes the construction and maintenance of a
full-service marina on less than one acre of private uplands, supported by
an additional 10.5 acres of public water bottoms. Marina plans call for 109
wet slips, a 785-foot transient fueling dock, a travel lift structure, an
11,000 square foot dry dock and boat maintenance yard, a storm drainage
system that will discharge stormwater directly to the marsh, a building for
a marina store and administrative offices, a septic system, a paved parking
lot with 42 spaces, and a bulkhead at the marsh edge that will surround the
entire 1-acre upland. In addition, the application reveals that the
development will cover the entire upland, leaving no buffer between the
development and the marsh.
The Petitioners argued that this marina will severely degrade surrounding
marshlands and coastal waters by directly discharging polluted runoff from
the parking lot and boat maintenance yard and wastewater from on-site
restrooms and boats that dock at the facility. Further, although the
developer had maintained throughout the permitting process that the
development of the marina would not require the filling of wetlands,
Petitioners demonstrated that the changes required to the Torras Causeway to
afford access to the marina site would likely require the filling of
marshlands. A ruling on the case is expected this summer.
|
|
