A.G. Gancarski
On Tuesday, the St. Johns Riverkeeper filed a notice of intent to sue the Army Corps of Engineers over the proposed St. Johns River harbor deepening project.
The grievances are fourfold. There is, the Riverkeeper contends, “a failure to provide appropriate in-kind mitigation for the environmental damage that will result from the dredging,” as well as “insufficient assessment of the environmental impacts, violations of the Endangered Species Act and Clean Water Act, and a flawed economic assessment.”
“We can’t afford to roll the dice with the future of our river. Once the damage is done, there is no turning back. We simply cannot afford to get this decision wrong,” states St. Johns Riverkeeper Lisa Rinaman.
On Monday, the day before the lawsuit was announced, there was a meeting scheduled between Rinaman and Robin Lumb, the city of Jacksonville policy director.
I snarked about that on Facebook; Rinaman replied on Wednesday: “Actually, I simply picked a bad time to get sick. Robin and I rescheduled our meeting for this afternoon.”
The cancelled meeting, Rinaman said Thursday, had nothing to do with the lawsuit. Nor was it related to Mayor Lenny Curry disbanding the JaxPort Task Force this week.
As Curry told Action News Jax:
“They did good work. They gave us recommendations that we’ll use and look at. I just think it’s time for me, being the mayor and the executive of the city, and the port board work together and be accountable for the future,” Curry said.
Rinaman: “We were going to file the lawsuit regardless.”
Even though, the Riverkeeper said, they were “disappointed” in the removal of “public dialogue” and “meaningful discussion,” the lawsuit had to happen when it did because of a closing “window of opportunity.”
Once the record of decision was approved by the Army Corps in April, Rinaman says, a 150-day window for action was opened.
Regarding the two mayors she has dealt with, Curry and Alvin Brown, Rinaman holds that there hasn’t been, beyond the task force issue, much difference.
“Both administrations have held the same position,” Rinaman said, and have been “responsive, to a point.”
They both “support a balanced approach,” she said.
That said, the task force has an advantage that the JAXPORT board doesn’t.
“The JAXPORT board is not a neutral setting because the port board benefits from this publicly funded project.”
The Corps of Engineers’ priority, meanwhile, has nothing to do with Jacksonville residents.
“Their priority is reduction of costs for shippers,” whom she says are primarily importing goods from our economic competitors overseas.
Rinaman notes that the messaging has changed also, from auguring an economic renaissance to just protecting the status quo, as Jacksonville attempts to keep up with deeper ports. She also asserts that there hasn’t been a meaningful discussion to deepening of the channel.
“There is no Plan B” for dredging enthusiasts, she said.
Rinaman will continue to talk with stakeholders despite the lawsuit, including dredging proponents: JAXPORT, the Chamber, and the administration. Her working relationship with Policy Director Lumb, she says is solid. She found him to be “thorough” when working on a previous issue of interest, the Central Florida Waterways Initiative.
