Port of Houston dredge plans near HYC, public comments needed by 6/4

[ChrisK]

If you sail on Galveston Bay, this may be of interest.
Public comments needed

From HYC:

"As some of you may already be aware, the Port of Houston Authority has applied for a permit from the Corps of Engineers to widen and deepen the Bayport Channel. While the dredging project itself should have little impact on the Club, one potential plan for disposal of the resulting dredge material is of major concern to the Club. The Port is proposing in its permit application one option to dispose of all of the dredge material in a new, very large dredge island west of the Houston ship channel and north of HYC. The island would initially be below water level, with the ability to raise it higher in future years. The Port is also including an option in its permit application to dispose of the dredge material in existing disposal cells on the east side of Atkinson's Island.

The immediate past and current HYC Flag have been meeting with the Port for nearly a year to express our opposition to any dredge material disposal west of the ship channel in the Upper Galveston Bay area. We believe that the island would represent a significant hazard to navigation in an area of the Bay heavily used by recreational boaters, could damage a world-class sailboat racing venue, and would take away a public asset from all boaters in the Galveston Bay area. There would be other safety, environmental, and community impacts as well that HYC and other affected parties are concerned about.

The HYC Flag just found out two days ago that the Public Notice has been published. Public comments are due on June 4, although the Club and other interested parties are requesting an extension from the Corps and TCEQ for the comment period. The Public Notice can be found at http://www.swg.usace.army.mil/reg/notice/PN2011-01183.pdf. We encourage all members to submit comments to the Corps and TCEQ. We will send out sample letters shortly if you need some help with the letters.

Be assured that the HYC Flag and Board of Trustees are vigorously opposing the taking of our waters. In addition to continued meetings with the Port, the Flag is meeting with area elected officials, talking to other affected constituencies, and developing a legal and technical strategy for protecting our front yard. But we need your help now as well. In addition to writing letters to the Corps and TCEQ, please contact your elected representatives and ask for their help in preserving the Bay for future generations.

We'll keep you posted as this issue continues to develop."

[ChrisK]

Sample letters, links at HYC site

http://houstonyachtclub.com/documents/Form_Letter_TCEQ.doc

http://houstonyachtclub.com/documents/Form_Letter_Corps.doc

GBCA should throw our weight behind this as well....maybe a petition at Rum Race #1? Thoughts?

[Bee]

In the current super conservative, cut everywhere, deregulate everything, privatize all, and go back to the past environment, I doubt that there is much that can be done.  In this setting there will never be any focus on maintaining or, heaven forbid,  improving recreation environments.  Wouldn't that be socialism?

A strong fight against the Bayport Container terminal/Cruise Ship debacle was put forth,  but the outcome was never in doubt.  Might be better to offer some kind of alternative, but I don't have a clue as to what that might be. Maybe we could get Fertitta to propose to put a pleasure factory on the Island.  That might fly but we would have to give him full rights to the new land, remove all restrictions, and cut all his taxes to get him to do it.

While I applaud HYC for the worthwhile effort, my money is on the Port of Houston.

[Grind4Beer]

A link to maps of the proposed new marshland/spoilbank:
http://www.swg.usace.army.mil/reg/notice/2011-01183.pdf
(see pages 2 & 6)

The proposed new spoil area could involve roughly a third of the cove between Morgan and Red Bluff. The conceptual feature as shown could force all commercial and recreational traffic into the ship channel.

As swampland bordered by rip-rap, it would be a serious navigational hazard to small craft, in addition to the risks of forcing them into the channel, where they would be forced to deal with large commercial traffic. As an elevated dewatering containment, it could also have significant effects on the hydrology of storm surges (some trade-offs on that, in duration and height along the El Jardin and Shore Acres coasts).

It looks like the CoE chose that site for mostly for economics; it' s close to the dredging and so would cost somewhat less to dump spoils in the new area than to pump across the channel and build up PA-14/15. They might be reluctant to site on the south side of Bayport channel, because of silting-in effects (similar to what happens at North Boater's cut).

It might be possible to tie the CoE up in court for years over the hydrology and hazard concerns, forcing studies, etc, but that could be megabucks in tax-dollars down the tubes too. Maybe it wouldn't take as much to convince them that using the existing spoil areas would be net cheaper and better.

G4B

[Bee]

Wow.  That's even dumber then I thought.  Methinks dragging my 6.5' keel through that would not be any fun at all.

[Charles]

There's already a huge spoils area just south of the snooze terminal.  They could build that up some more and put a luxury hotel on it for the cruise ship traffic!

[Bee]

Oh, Oh, Oh, I like that.  A great alternative to another Fartitiaville.

[Kevin Box]

I hate to be cynical, but my money is on Bee?s cynicism.  They built the Bayport container terminal without regard for public sentiment and without the necessary infrastructure.  Yes there were town hall meetings, petitions and all that, but it was predestination from the get-go.  They built the Cruise Terminal without an agreement from any Cruise Line.  It has all the modern features of a cruise terminal except a single Cruise Ship.  Every road in the area has been demolished over the last two years with traffic for which it was never intended to support and they are just now getting around to building the roads that should serve this facility.  They?re betting on the Panamax come and if the Cruise Terminal is any indication of the Port Authority's clairvoyance, I would have cause for concern.

[ChrisK]

Even if it is a losing battle, I feel HYC should at least try to negociate a dredging of their inner harbor to 10 feet, or possibly breakwall improvements as a trade-off/concession.  Hopefully it's a lesson learned after Seabrook and HYC fought Bayport tooth and nail and got nothing.  

[Bee]

I don't disagree with HYC continuing the fight, but I'm still cynical.   When I was there they fought a valiant but loosing  battle to keep Bayport and the smooze terminal out.  No luck.

When this goes through, a big part of the North Bay will be off limits to us sail boatees.  I plotted a rough estimate of the spoils outer limits on a chart.  Its huge and my guess is this is where they will put the markers that outline it.  That, of course,  assumes that they are even concerned about someone hitting it.

My guess is that the "public" which includes many fishermen, oystermen, shrimpers, and bird watchers will love it.  The only good news for some of us is that this will probably force HYC to hold its deep keel boat races South of the Bayport Channel.  Unfortunately, that means having to spend more club resources then they should have to.

[s/v Amenah]

If anyone wants to see what the proposal looks like on a map, I've plotted the coordinates in a KMZ file. It opens directly in to Google Earth or any other software that handles KMZ files.

http://ytrewq.com/misc/PoH_Bayport_Dredge.kmz

It really is a substantial amount of the bay up there!

[lwisehou]

HYC is ramping up the fight on several fronts. http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/story?section=news/local&id=8672589

Cynicism is certainly understandable, but there are differences between this fight and Bayport.  One encouraging point is that this BU area is just one "option" in their plan.  Public opinion isn't going to change their minds.  However, given their desired timeline for this and the time required to meet the need for additional studies and information, this could become less of a preferred option.

They have extended the comment period to July 5.  Please remember that the only comments they have to consider are ones that are in writing and per their comment guidelines.  So, it doesn't matter how many petitions or news stories are done, if the comments don't fit within their bureaucratic little world, ?it will be considered that there are no objections? (their words per the notice).

While the Bayport fight was ugly---I'm still bitter about the packed hearing at the George R. Brown with all the bussed in people to speak up for the PoH---the cruise terminal there is an embarrassing (100 million $) failure for them.  Hmmm. why are they building a mud pit in front of their beautiful cruise terminal that they just had to have.

There is a fighting chance yet.  Coalitions are forming, lawyers are filing things.  Look for an announcement of a June meeting at HYC (date tbd) for information sharing among all groups.

-MW

[Bee]

We can certainly hope HYC prevails.  I certainly wish them all the luck in the world.  My cynicism is based pretty much on the entire Bayport/Cruise Terminal debacle.  I still have my own bad memories of that and I was only involved as a member of HYC.

There is absolutely no question that none of us sailors want this to happen.  In fact, I just can't see any reason for them to dump the spoils there.  Why not just build up the existing spoil Islands?

[DollFin]

I'm sorry... I couldn't resist...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DDYWdABRQIo

[s/v Amenah]

HYC is ramping up the fight on several fronts. http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/story?section=news/local&id=8672589

To the average Joe in Houston, that story came off like a handful of residents and fancy, yacht club richies don't want their playground messed up. The PoH Director dropped all the right words ("we totally understand what the community wants", "we totally understand what the environmental agencies want", "beneficial", etc - That dude has politician written across his forehead). That's what people will hear. HYC is going to have to bring its A-Game if they want to be in this fight.

Wayne Dolcefino ran a story bashing the PoH today: http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/story?section=news/13_undercover&id=8672576. That's the kind of ammo HYC needs. Amp up the citizens against the PoH for wasting their tax dollars and ruining everything they touch. Since this stuff is being reported now, it's a good time to run with it. Maybe he'll do a follow-up.

Take some reporters to the North Cut and let them smell what the spoils pile is cooking. When that proposed "marsh" ends up a few feet above the water line, Shoreacres is going to get a permanent whiff of something funky. I can see it now.. the prevailing S/SE breeze wafting over the new "Turd Island" on its way to cool off the residents ashore. YIKES!

I truly hope they don't dump spoils there. That would be really bad news.