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Seagrass Sign Dispute Affects Dredging Effort

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By CHRISTIAN M. WADE

The Tampa Tribune

Published: June 8, 2008

PORT RICHEY - Before they sign off on a request to dredge miles of silt- clogged canals here, state and federal regulators must approve a plan to replace about an acre of seagrass beds that would be uprooted when the project gets under way.

To mitigate the impact, city officials have proposed creating a 58-acre seagrass protection zone, off the coast near Harbor Pointe, where boaters would be prohibited.

The only problem is that two of the state regulatory agencies reviewing the permit request can't agree on the wording on the signs required to be posted along the seagrass area.

Until the bureaucratic logjam is resolved, regulators won't issue a permit.

As far as the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is concerned, if the signs say "seagrass area," they comply with the regulatory agency's requirements.

The Florida Department of Environmental Protection, the lead agency that must approve the seagrass mitigation plan, has a different interpretation. Environmental officials say the warning signs must say boaters will be prosecuted for trespassing.

The issue boils down to enforcement: If the signs' wording is too vague, authorities would be reluctant to issue citations because the tickets won't stand up in court.

"We're not going to sign off on a seagrass protection project that's unenforceable," said Michael Nowicki, a project manager for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in Tampa.

The permit application, which includes 20 other canals where seagrass is nonexistent, is key to the city's plan to dredge waterways degraded by pollution and years of neglect.

The federal agency already has signed off on 20 of the canals, but five remain.

Nowicki said the wording dispute affects dozens of other dredging projects across the state where such signs are required to protect seagrass beds, a vital marine habitat.

"About 75 percent of the signs put up around the state are probably illegal," he said.

DEP spokeswoman Pamala Vazquez said both agencies are working "at the highest levels" to resolve the impasse, but said the issue comes down to a difference of opinion.

"We both have different sets of rules," Vazquez said. "It's something we need to resolve."

Officials with the environmental protection agency are also reviewing the permit to dredge the 25 canals, and although they don't believe the sign issue will delay the process, they won't approve it until it's resolved.

The state agency has a June 25 deadline to approve or deny the permit application.

Seagrass is considered environmentally sensitive because it provides habitat for fish and other marine life.

The beds become eroded when crosshatched by propeller scars.

In the absence of a resolution on the sign issue, regulators are discussing wording that will be acceptable to all regulatory agencies involved in the permitting process.

One proposal, from the fish and wildlife agency, would be to install other signs warning boaters that the seagrass zone is a shallow area where boats could get stuck.

The concept behind those signs is the same: keeping boaters from damaging the delicate seagrass beds.

"Maybe a combination of the two signs would work," Nowicki said. "We'll have to see."

City Needs Enforcement Power

Mayor Richard Rober said he is confident a permit will be issued but said the sign issue needs to be resolved because the city will be responsible for enforcing it.

"We need to be able to enforce this locally," he said. "We're a long way from putting signs in the ground, but they need to get this worked out before that time comes."

Pasco County officials have found themselves in a similar predicament with the Hudson Channel, a narrow pass that leads from Hudson Beach to the Gulf of Mexico.

Two years ago, the county was issued a permit to dredge the channel.

The conditions of the permit approval required the county to create a 200-acre seagrass protection zone.

The Department of Environmental Protection says the county is violating its permit because of the wording of the seagrass signage, and law enforcement officials say they're powerless to enforce the zone.

Multi-Faceted Dredging Plan

By far, the canal project is the most important portion of Port Richey's dredging plan.

The status of two previous permit applications remain uncertain.

One request sought to create a channel from an existing canal off Old Post Road, providing boaters from that neighborhood a navigable route to the Gulf of Mexico.

State and federal regulators have said they are unlikely to approve that request, and city officials have been granted a six-month extension to explore alternatives.

Another permit sought to create two canals linking the Pithlachascotee River to Lake Deedra, but that proposal, too, has been strongly scrutinized by regulators.

The city has withdrawn that application, but some city officials want to see it resubmitted.

Reporter Christian M. Wade can be reached at (727) 815-1082 or cwade@tampatrib.com.

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