On May 13 (2008 ) ; the Broward County Commission approved the
master plan for the expansion of Port Everglades ; in order to accomodate
larger freighters -
By Scott Wyman, South Florida Sun-Sentinel
April 9, 2008
The fight over whether to develop Port Everglades or keep a promise to preserve wetlands likely will not be resolved until later this year.
Broward County commissioners debated late Tuesday night on port expansion, and were deadlocked on a decision. Port administrators told them that they could hold off on the decision until the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers finishes a study of the environmental impact of dredging the seaport.
The port proposed destroying 12 acres of mangroves near its turning notch to accommodate more cargo ship berths. The land, though, is part of 45 acres of tidal wetlands that the port agreed to preserve forever as part of a 1987 agreement with the state to allow an earlier expansion.
Commissioner Josephus Eggelletion Jr. said he was fine with waiting, but said expansion is important. "These cargo ships came here after a lot of courting and a lot of trade missions and they can leave and go elsewhere," he said.
The state Department of Environmental Protection would have to agree to the port development, and the Corps of Engineers would have to win permission to dredge the port to allow larger ships.
County commissioners temporarily derailed the plans in December after criticism arose from environmentalists.
Environmental activists on Tuesday accused the port of trying to renege on a promise to permanently protect the wetlands. Business interests should not outweigh saving mangroves, they said.
"This is about ethics and the public trust," said Cara Campbell, a Fort Lauderdale resident and leader of the Ecology Party of Florida. "The minute you knew a previous commission had deeded this in perpetuity, that should have been the end of the discussion. How can you even ask us to trust you again if you do this?"
The plan calls for the turning notch to be extended westward to create extra berths for larger ships, and for Berth 29 to lengthen by rerouting the discharge canal for the Florida Power & Light Co. plant. The work would cost $100 million, while another $52 million would be spent to offset the environmental damage.
The berths would allow the port to accept imports of crushed rock and then send it out by rail. Port administrators said South Florida faces a shortage of crushed rock needed to build roads, homes and bridges.
The port proposed buying and improving Deerfield Island, then giving it to the state as replacement for the destroyed mangroves. Other work would be done to improve mangroves in West Lake Park.
The controversial work was initially part of a larger $2 billion plan approved in December to expand the port over the next 20 years to handle more cruise and cargo traffic. The port ranks as one of the nation's three busiest for cruise lines and in recent years has posted record growth in cargo traffic.
Shipping executives and workers at the port argued Tuesday that the turning notch expansion is vital to the long-term future of the seaport.
They fear the federal government won't proceed with plans to dredge and deepen the port and its entrance channel if the turning notch expansion were dropped. Without the dredging, the port will not be able to accommodate the larger cargo ships that are expected once the Panama Canal is expanded in 2014 or 2015.
"The port is a very vital element of Broward County's existence, and to further its growth, we need the expansion of the turning notch in its entirety," said Norman Spencer, of Eller Maritime Services.
Scott Wyman can be reached at swyman@sun-sentinel.com or 954-356-4511.
