State grants variance request to widen Wilmington port’s turning basin

Updated: Apr. 17, 2019 at 5:39 PM EDT
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WILMINGTON, NC (WECT) - The North Carolina Coastal Resources Commission on Wednesday voted to approve a variance request by the North Carolina Port of Wilmington to widen its turning basin so the port can accept larger container vessels.

The port was initially denied the request to excavate more than 19 acres of wetland by the North Carolina Division of Coastal Management (CAMA) over fears of the adverse effects the project would have on endangered fish species that call the Cape Fear River home.

The following mitigation measures were agreed to by port officials:

  • Creation of tidal pools within existing Phragmites habitat on 6.75 acres. The tidal pools would be created on property located on the port’s Brunswick River property located near the project area.
  • Donation of $800,000 to complete construction and monitoring of a fish passage at Lock and Dam # 1 in the upper Cape Fear River to help restore anadromous fish populations in the Cape Fear River.
  • Tidal marsh enhancement by removing invasive Phragmites vegetation on 1.75 acres of property located on-site of the port’s property.
  • Creation of a perpetual conservation easement on 30.2 acres of POW property east of the Brunswick River. Most of the property is brackish tidal marsh and Section 404 wetlands and serves as habitat for a myriad of invertebrates, juvenile fish and birds.
  • The port commits to delay construction until July 1, 2019 so as to minimize potential adverse effects on anadromous fish during their annual migration up river for spawning.
  • A condition requiring a monitoring plan to be created in coordination with federal and state resource agencies and to be funded by NC Ports to evaluate the effects of improvements to Lock and Dam #1 and whether the intended improved fish passage was successful.
  • A condition requiring NC Ports and NC DEQ to negotiate and agree to an MOU, in place by Sept. 1, 2019, outlining specific public and interagency engagement for any future plans, studies, and alternatives analyses related to expansion of Port facilities prior to permit application submittal and/or petitions for commission variances, to include public hearings, appropriate stakeholder engagement, and a process for improved coordination of timelines for state and federal environmental reviews to encourage improved interagency reviews and discussions of potential impacts and mitigation measures.
  • A condition requiring that if NC Ports needs to seek moratorium relief for the proposed dredging associated with this project, that it be done through a minor modification of the CAMA Major Permit issued pursuant to this variance.

Port officials also agreed to comply with any additional mitigation measures required by the U.S. Corps of Engineers, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, or other permitting agencies.

The port sought to widen the turning basin an additional 124 feet by dredging from both sides of the Cape Fear River, a project that will cost around $30 million and take about seven months.

To do so, they will need to dredge 17.76 acres of “shallow and deep soft bottom habitat," as well as 1.4 acres of tidal marsh wetland. That dredging will remove approximately 560,000 cubic yards of sediment and vegetation — enough to fill the Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool almost 17 times — which will be taken to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers facility on Eagle Island.

Then, the port will install a 1,416 foot toe-wall that will help maintain the basin’s required 42-foot depth.

The expanded turning basin will allow the Port of Wilmington to service 14,000 TEU container vessels, some of the largest ships to call on the East Coast.

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