Environmentalists block Port Everglades expansion
Local authorities have rejected a crucial component of Port Everglades's $2 billion expansion plan, following strong objection from environmentalists.
The Broward County Commission declined approval for the removal of 8.7 acres of mangrove trees growing along South Florida's shore line that would allow for an enlarged turning notch to be extended westward to create extra berths for ships with capacity of 5,500 TEUs and above.
According to one local report, environmental groups had “complained that the port had promised in 1987 to preserve all the wetlands adjacent to the port as a condition for expansion that was needed at that time, when ships were much smaller”.
In all, the port has pledged some $52 million to offset environmental damage caused by the proposed expansion.
For instance, the port has offered to mitigate the mangrove loss by buying and improving Deerfield Island, and giving it to the state to replace the destroyed mangroves.
“The resistance of environmental groups to port expansion is a common problem throughout the nation and the port will adjust to whatever recommendations are made by the corps and federal and state environmental agencies,” Port Everglades director Phil Allen was quoted as saying.
Reports say the expansion plans will now be put on hold until at least later this year when the Army Corp of Engineers completes an investigation into the environmental impact of dredging at Port Everglades.
Some local sources, in fact, maintain that the new berths are actually important to South Florida's environment.
Expanding the berths at Port Everglades would allow importation of crushed rock needed to build roads, homes and bridges. Port officials say South Florida is currently facing a shortage of crushed rock.
The expansion would see the construction of a crushed rock import facility capable of handling 4 million metric tonnes (mt) of aggregate a year.
This would mean that rock mining near the Everglades may be kept to a minimum in order to protect diminishing fresh water supply.
The Broward County Commission had initially approved the $2 billion master plan for expansion last December, but had postponed deciding on the enlarged turning notch component till this month.
One environmentalist, Cara Campbell, of the Ecology Party of Florida, was quoted by the Florida Shipper as saying that the issue is “about ethics and the public trust.”
“The minute you knew a previous commission had deeded this (preserving the wetlands) in perpetuity, that should have been the end of the discussion,” she said. “How can you even ask us to trust you again if you do this?”
The Broward County Commission declined approval for the removal of 8.7 acres of mangrove trees growing along South Florida's shore line that would allow for an enlarged turning notch to be extended westward to create extra berths for ships with capacity of 5,500 TEUs and above.
According to one local report, environmental groups had “complained that the port had promised in 1987 to preserve all the wetlands adjacent to the port as a condition for expansion that was needed at that time, when ships were much smaller”.
In all, the port has pledged some $52 million to offset environmental damage caused by the proposed expansion.
For instance, the port has offered to mitigate the mangrove loss by buying and improving Deerfield Island, and giving it to the state to replace the destroyed mangroves.
“The resistance of environmental groups to port expansion is a common problem throughout the nation and the port will adjust to whatever recommendations are made by the corps and federal and state environmental agencies,” Port Everglades director Phil Allen was quoted as saying.
Reports say the expansion plans will now be put on hold until at least later this year when the Army Corp of Engineers completes an investigation into the environmental impact of dredging at Port Everglades.
Some local sources, in fact, maintain that the new berths are actually important to South Florida's environment.
Expanding the berths at Port Everglades would allow importation of crushed rock needed to build roads, homes and bridges. Port officials say South Florida is currently facing a shortage of crushed rock.
The expansion would see the construction of a crushed rock import facility capable of handling 4 million metric tonnes (mt) of aggregate a year.
This would mean that rock mining near the Everglades may be kept to a minimum in order to protect diminishing fresh water supply.
The Broward County Commission had initially approved the $2 billion master plan for expansion last December, but had postponed deciding on the enlarged turning notch component till this month.
One environmentalist, Cara Campbell, of the Ecology Party of Florida, was quoted by the Florida Shipper as saying that the issue is “about ethics and the public trust.”
“The minute you knew a previous commission had deeded this (preserving the wetlands) in perpetuity, that should have been the end of the discussion,” she said. “How can you even ask us to trust you again if you do this?”