USVI-On-Line

The Save Coral Bay group just issued this press release. If you haven't already, you might wish to make a small (or large) donation to their legal effort to stop the mega-marina.

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This press release was just published to media outlets. The fight to SAVE CORAL BAY is heating up ... more news to follow later this week.

http://www.savecoralbay.org/

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

CORAL BAY PARTIES UNITE FOR LEGAL ACTION AGAINST MAJOR MARINA

St John, USVI - November 12, 2014 -The Save Coral Bay Fund, with the full support of the Coral Bay Community Council, announced today that it is partnering with the Virgin Islands Conservation Society (VICS) to initiate legal action against the development of the St John Marina proposed by The Summers End Group, LLC, for Coral Bay Harbor, in St John, US Virgin Islands. Later this week VICS will be filing appeals against permits granted to the marina developers by the St John Coastal Zone Management committee.

Following unprecedented public outcry against a marina that would be destructive to federally listed endangered sea turtle habitat, endangered coral species, and a prime nursery for lemon and black tip sharks, a grass roots movement has quickly drawn over $75,000 in financial support from hundreds of people inside and outside of the Virgin Islands who are opposed to this project. The Save Coral Bay Fund is supported by residents of all of the US Virgin Islands, business owners, frequent visitors, mariners, marine biologists, realtors, and people from all walks of life who see this proposed mega marina as the most threatening development ever to be considered for the island of St John. All financial donations to the Save Coral Bay Fund are being managed by the Coral Bay Community Council, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.

The Virgin Islands Conservation Society has an over 45 year track record of successes in protecting the natural environment of the USVI. VICS has successfully fought to prevent environmentally destructive development from damaging the fragile ecosystems of the Virgin Islands and encouraging responsible development.

The partnership has retained legal counsel to oppose the proposed development. At the VI territorial level, attorney Jennifer Jones (vienvironmentallaw.com) will be the lead counsel, assisted by attorney Andrew Simpson (coralbrief.com) as chief litigation counsel. Between the two, these attorneys have over 30 years of experience successfully fighting environmental cases in the Virgin Islands. Jennifer Jones said "The numerous problems with these applications and the manner in which they were reviewed will all be noted in the filing with the Board of Land Use Appeals. This is an important environmental case that will highlight how the Coastal Zone Management Commission reviews CZM applications and whether it truly protects the environment and the public's interest."

To handle aspects of the lengthy federal multi-agency regulatory review process coordinated by the Army Corps of Engineers, the nationally known environmental and energy law firm, Manko, Gold, Katcher & Fox (mankogold.com) is providing pro bono legal services. The Save Coral Bay Fund is extremely fortunate to have the services of partners Robert Fox and Jonathan Rinde of the Manko firm. They bring extensive experience in regulatory compliance and litigation in federal environmental law.

David Silverman, spokesperson for the Save Coral Bay Fund, said "I am thrilled that VICS is lending their vast experience in environmental protection to this vital cause. The voices that have been raised in opposition to the marina proposal of the Summers End Group will now have an effective channel through which to pursue appeals and, if necessary, litigation in our territorial and federal courts. We applaud VICS for standing up with us to fight for our Virgin Islands environment."

Jason Budsan, President, Virgin Islands Conservation Society, said "The protection of our natural environment is the prime mission of VICS. We stand with the people of Coral Bay , St John and all responsible Virgin Islanders in their opposition to this environmentally destructive marina development. Our voice was heard at the public hearing, and now we are adding the voice of hundreds of St John residents to our firm stance in this critical matter."

For more information on the Coral Bay Summer’s End Group marina, please visit the website of the Save Coral Bay Fund - savecoralbay.com and the public fund appeal at GoFundMe.com/coralbay.

Contacts:
David Silverman, Save Coral Bay Fund, savecoralbay@gmail.com
Andrew Simpson, Counsel for VICS, coralbrief@gmail.com

>> MAJOR PRESS RELEASE PUBLISHED TODAY <<
The following press release was distributed today highlighting how the Save Coral Bay campaign is gaining momentum and securing support from national environmental groups.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
LEGAL APPEALS FILED - ST JOHN MARINA OPPOSITION GAINS NATIONAL ATTENTION
December 1, 2014 - Coral Bay, St John, US Virgin Islands - The proposed mega yacht marina in Coral Bay Harbor, St John, is attracting considerable attention, although not of the positive variety. Two appeals were filed on November 14th by the Virgin Islands Conservation Society to the Virgin Islands Board of Land Use Appeals contesting the permits granted to the Summers End Group by the local Coastal Zone Management committee. By the end of last week, three organizations of national prominence had endorsed the cause to block the development of the marina unless and until all environmental concerns have been thoroughly addressed.
The Friends of the Virgin Islands National Park sent an email to 15,000 members expressing serious concerns about the impact of the proposed marina on National Park resources. Their message stated: "The Environmental Assessment prepared for this marina gives no consideration to impacts to the (national) monument’s water quality, marine resources, wetlands (mangroves) coral reefs, sea grasses, fish, marine invertebrates, and species of concern protected by the Endangered Species Act. Likewise there is no consideration of impacts to park and monument soundscapes and lightscapes." The full text of the Friends of the Park newsletter may be found here - friendsvinp.org/news-a-events/concern-about-marina-impacts .
The National Parks Conservation Association, an organization of over a million members and supporters made the following statement: "The construction of the (Summers End Group) marina could substantially alter the ecology and benthic communities within Coral Bay, while also impacting the delicate marine ecosystem within Hurricane Hole, located within Monument boundaries. Possible impacts to water quality, the health and vitality of threatened and endangered species, and critical benthic habitat must be thoroughly evaluated in order to prevent irreversible damage to the area’s environment." The mission of the NPCA (http://www.npca.org) is "to protect and enhance America’s National Park System for present and future generations."
Also, the National Parks Traveler wrote about the threats posed by the Coral Bay marina to the Virgin Islands National Park and Coral Reef National Monument in an article to its 1.6 million readers. National Parks Traveler "works to educate the general public about the National Park System, increase awareness and understanding of issues affecting the national parks and the National Park Service, and build a stronger advocacy for protection and sound stewardship of the parks."
The appeals filed by the Virgin Islands Conservation Society (VICS) point to wide ranging defects in the land and water permits issued to the Summers End Group. The complaints assert, among other things, that the application documents were incomplete (lacking proper legal authorization from the property owners), that the environmental impact review required by law was heavily flawed or nonexistent, that the review board's actions were compromised by conflict of interest, and that the permits that were issued are illegal under Virgin Islands code. These appeals were filed with the Virgin Islands Board of Land Use Appeals on November 14th, 2014.
Speaking on behalf of the Save Coral Bay Fund, David Silverman said: "The appeals of the permits granted to the Summers End Group highlight the serious environmental harm that a marina of this scale would do to Coral Bay harbor and the surrounding waters of the national park system. It was a requirement of the law that these environmental impacts be thoroughly identified, and mitigation measures proposed to substantially lessen or eliminate the impacts. The Summers End Group failed to do this, and for that reason alone the permits should not have been granted. We are confident that through the appeals process we can stop this ill-conceived project, creating an opportunity to plan environmentally appropriate boating services solutions for all of St John."
For more information, including the full text of the permit appeals and additional background on the environmental concerns surrounding this project, please visit savecoralbay.com. To support the mission of the Save Coral Bay Fund please visit GoFundMe.com/coralbay.
Contacts:
David Silverman, Save Coral Bay Fund, 340.244.9875 or savecoralbay@gmail.com
Andrew Simpson, Counsel for VICS, 340.719.3900 x.1 or coralbrief@gmail.com

Some folks are still saying that the marina is "a done deal". It is not.

The developers can't start construction until all permits are issued including the permit from Army Corp of Engineers. Considering the appeals that have been filed and after that the courts and the Army Corp process, it will take years before it gets the go ahead.

The developers are hurting for money. There are public documents that evidence that the company that did the drawings for the marina threatened to withhold use of the drawings due to non payment. I doubt investors will want to keep pouring money into a failing project.

The governor elect is on record as saying "it is too big". He also indicated that he doubts it will make it through the federal permit process.

If you are interested in what is proposed and what is being done, go to www.savecoralbay.com. You will be able to review all the documentation related to the proposed marina and the public reaction.

To expand upon iheartsj's comments, yesterday's Virgin Islands Daily News had an article detailing the "cash flow situation" that the Summer's End Group faces. They are very clearly massively undercapitalized, and unless some big money takes their bait very soon, this is all likely to blow over. Encouraging...

http://virginislandsdailynews.com/news/ ... -1.1796688

All the best,

Kevin

That is indeed encouraging Kevin.

This comment from the Summers End Group got my attention; "Moreover, the contract is silent as to ownership of documents, drawings, plans, reports or other materials created by ATM," Summers wrote to the CZM officials."

SEG seems to think they own the designs whether or not they have paid for them and the creator has signed away all rights to them. Without reading the contract between SEG and the design group ATM it's hard to know for sure, but I think this would be a great pro bono opportunity for any intellectual property attorney out there who loves STJ and would care to see this lovely harbor saved.

The US Army Corps of Engineers public comment period for the MEGA MARINA in Coral Bay is now open, until JANUARY 31, 2015. PLEASE SEND A LETTER if you are concerned about the impact of this project. All of the information you need - who, what, when - can be found here: http://SaveCoralBay.com/army-corps-comments Help Save Coral Bay today !