Seawalls versus sea turtles: Dispute sizzles between oceanfront landowners and wildlife advocates

Rodgau ivermectin for dogs chewy COLUMBIA, SC Experimental seawalls touted as a way to protect oceanfront property without eroding beaches or hurting rare sea turtles have not worked and should be discontinued in South Carolina, staff members at the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control say.

https://www.ecocyclerieloirelayonaubance.fr/2694-dfr40512-rencontre-sur-arras-gratuit.html In a recommendation up for discussion by the agency’s board Thursday, DHEC staff members said the plastic seawalls are preventing sand from naturally building up behind them.

grosvenor casinos spelende meiden aankleden voor blunderingly But the department’s coastal division said the public should get a chance to weigh in before the walls are banned, as proposed. Staff members recommend a 45-day comment period to gauge reaction to the proposal. A public hearing would be held after that.

The seawalls, known as wave dissipation devices, block “the natural accretion of sand on the shoreline during calm conditions,’’ according to a recommendation in the DHEC board’s agenda packet. Staff members said the wave dissipation walls present “ a potential harm associated with continued nesting attempts of sea turtles.’’

DHEC staff members ordered the experimental plastic seawalls removed at Harbor Island and Isle of Palms last summer, but the agency’s board overruled staff in the fall and allowed the devices to remain. Board members expressed concern that people’s oceanfront property, valued at millions of dollars, could be hurt by rising seas.

The walls, approved as an experiment by the Legislature two years ago, were being tried as a way to protect seaside homes that jut out onto beaches at Harbor Island and Isle of Palms.

Unlike seawalls made of concrete or rock, the plastic walls are portable structures that are supposed to protect oceanfront property without further eroding beaches. They contain openings that let sea water and some sand get through them, which is supposed to limit beach erosion and help beaches build up behind them. They also are touted as easy to remove during sea turtle nesting season.

The issue has been a hot one in recent months as concerns increased about the impacts of the walls on beaches and wildlife.

Two environmental groups filed suit this week in federal court, alleging that DHEC had violated the U.S. Endangered Species Act by allowing the plastic walls on South Carolina beaches. Loggerhead turtles, the most common types of sea turtles along the state’s coast, are classified as threatened species and are protected under the Endangered Species Act.

Tuesday’s suit asked a federal judge to require the walls to be removed immediately and to prevent more wave dissipation devices from being installed. It also asked the court to declare the plastic seawalls illegal under the federal Endangered Species Act.

A recent DHEC-commissioned consulting report said the wave dissipation walls do not “appear to significantly affect sea turtle nesting or other fauna.” Property owners who installed the experimental walls have investments on one stretch of beach at Harbor Island and three stretches of the Wild Dunes area of Isle of Palms.

Still, the 135-page study said limited beach erosion has occurred around the walls and the plastic wave walls have obstructed people from walking down the public beach at Isle of Palms and Harbor Island. It says the walls provide some property protection now, but are not long-term solutions.

The Sierra Club-Wildlife Federation suit is the latest chapter in South Carolina’s decades-old struggle over how to regulate oceanfront development. But as sea level continues to rise, the issues are becoming more pronounced. Most of the state’s beaches are eroding and many lost sand during Hurricane Matthew in October