\tMiami, FL \u2014 <\/p>\n
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has agreed to halt authorization of all activity temporarily for a sand dredging project off Fort Lauderdale, FL. due to concerns over damage to imperiled corals.<\/p>\n
The halt happened less than a week after Earthjustice, representing Miami Waterkeeper, the Florida Wildlife Federation, and the Diving Equipment & Marketing Association, along with partner the Center for Biological Diversity, filed a lawsuit challenging federal agencies\u2019 permitting process for the project because it threatens imperiled marine species<\/a> like staghorn coral and queen conch. The project, called a \u201csand bypass,\u201d involves dredging a 10.8-acre underwater pit to capture sand to use later for beach renourishment.<\/p>\n Florida\u2019s coral reef is the only nearshore coral reef in the continental U.S., stretching along the Atlantic coast from Monroe to Martin Counties.<\/p>\n Some of the last healthy populations of naturally-occurring, rare staghorn corals and breeding queen conch live in this area near Port Everglades, a busy marine cruise ship and commercial port. A massive proposed Port Everglades Expansion dredging project has already been put on hold<\/a>, but if it moves forward, it would put more than 10 million corals at risk, as well as dolphins, turtles, and fish.<\/p>\n The siltation from the smaller sand bypass project is a harbinger for potential widespread damage from the port expansion. Satellite imagery and sediment monitoring show that the sand bypass project produced larger-than-predicted sediment plumes, stretching over thousands of meters from the dredging, which could be harming the nearby reef, critical habitat, and species that call this area home.<\/p>\n In an Aug. 7 letter to the National Marine Fisheries Service, the Corps acknowledged that recent underwater surveys revealed the sand bypass project may have exceeded limits for \u201cincidental take\u201d \u2014 meaning harms or deaths \u2014 of threatened staghorn coral. The Corps agreed to reinitiate consultation with the National Marine Fisheries Service to assess environmental risks and ways to minimize ecological damage.<\/p>\n