COASTAL CONSERVATION LEAGUE – PROTECTING OUR ENVIRONMENT
JUNE 21, 2011: Rotarian Rob Dewey introduced today’s speaker, Kate Parks, Project Manager for the Coastal Conservation League. Rob discussed Kate’s impressive educational background including graduating cum laude from Clemson University with a BS in Environmental and Natural Resources with a Concentration in Conservation Biology. Prior to graduating, Kate studied as a NOAA Ernest F Hollings Scholar with the NOAA Chesapeake Bay Office in Maryland, focusing on land use and coastal development.
Kate began her presentation by thanking the audience for inviting a Coastal Conservation League representative to address the environmental and economic impact of Charleston’s current infrastructure developments including the 526 Highway extension project and the new cruise ship terminal.
As Kate explained, the 526 Highway extension project debate has “allowed us to focus on community needs” and compare the economic invest and impact of other projects such as freight rail improvements, Boeing’s expansion and mass transit needs. Unfortunately, these projects including the 526 Highway extension, share the same funding source, the Infrastructure Bank. Established in 1997, the Infrastructure Bank funds projects of state significance, such as the Ravel Bridge, the Horry County Intracoastal Bridges and Aiken County’s Palmetto Parkway.
As 5 years have passed since the application for funding was submitted, the 526 Highway Extension project is no longer a top priority. Unfortunately, the current price of the project ($489M) occupies a large part of the Infrastructure Bank’s funding and bonding capacity. So, the question arises, should the 526 Highway extension be built at the expense of other projects? The answer is not that simple, as Kate explained. The debate between the public opinion as well as the money ($11.6M) currently owed continues today.
An equally controversial topic, the new cruise ship terminal, was the second local concern Kate discussed. As the South Carolina State Ports Authority (SPA) plans to increase cruise ship visits and build a new cruise terminal, issues raised include: “increased traffic (pedestrian and vehicular); the visual spectacle of large cruise ships at berth that do not fit the scale or context of historic downtown Charleston; and high levels of harmful pollutants that come from cruise vessels.”
In an effort to explain the recently filed lawsuit against Carnival Cruise Lines, by Southern Environmental Law Center, on behalf of CCL, the Preservation Society, Historic Ansonborough, and Charlestowne neighborhoods, Kate outlined the seven stipulations included in the “Miranda of understanding,” whose collective purpose is to ensure balance. The provisions include the following: limit 104 ships per year (two per week), no discharge zone moved to 12 miles outside harbor, cruise ship option to “plug in” to decrease air pollution from idling, offsite parking, noise ordinance, accommodation tax and size limit. Kate explained the purpose of the lawsuit is for the “ability to clarify local control.”
Kate’s passion for the environment and balance between land and people is exemplified in the Coastal Conservation League’s mission “to protect the natural environment of South Carolina coastal plain and to enhance the quality of life in our communities by working with individuals, business and government to ensure balanced solutions.”
Reported by Teal Van Suan, Keyway Committee