BRADENTON, Fla. — South Florida environmentalists filed a federal suit Thursday seeking an injunction to stop dredging of a shipping channel to ready PortMiami for opening of the expanded Panama Canal.
Environmentalists claim there are ongoing violations of the Endangered Species Act threatening sensitive corals and reefs beyond those allowed in permits issued for the work by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection.
The suit comes as Miami-Dade County continues work on a largely bond-financed $1 billion capital improvement program that includes contributions to the $220 million Deep Dredge project.
The state contributed $112 million to the dredging project, while Miami-Dade agreed to fund $108 million.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers hired the Oak Brook, Ill.-based Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Co. to dredge the harbor to a depth of 50 feet, and widen it in places.
Since dredging began in November, sediment has been found blanketing the reefs and stressing corals, according to the suit filed by the nonprofit Biscayne Bay Waterkeeper Inc., Miami-Dade resident Dan Kipnis, the Miami-Dade Reef Guard Association, and the Tropical Audubon Society.
Miami-Dade County biologists evaluated the condition of the corals and related habitat, and "found areas of the reef heavily covered with dredge-related sediments, and dead and dying corals," said the lawsuit.
If the Corps fails to implement best management practices to reduce the sediment, the plaintiffs said they believe the sedimentation will result in the degradation and adverse modification of seagrass critical habitat in Biscayne Bay.
The petitioners are asking the court to find the Corps in violation of its environmental permit and to cease dredging until the Corps complies with the permit.
They also want the court to order additional underwater protection against sedimentation, as well as an assessment of the damage that has occurred, and civil penalties.
When Miami-Dade officials announced that the dredging project would begin late last year, they said it would include the restoration of more than 16 acres of seagrass and the creation of nine acres of artificial reef.
Some coral colonies were expected to be relocated, but environmentalists said far more corals were found than had been anticipated.
Corps spokeswoman Sue Jackson would not comment on the suit.
"Some environmental impact is unavoidable, but there has to be balance if we're to grow as a nation and remain vital in the global marketplace," Jackson said in published reports. "This is a complex challenge, economically and environmentally."
As the closest U.S port to Panama, Miami-Dade's Deep Dredge project was planned to be done in time for PortMiami to receive the new generation of larger container cargo vessels that will be able pass through the Panama Canal after its expansion for modern container ships that require up to 50-foot channel depths.
It is not clear at this time if the environmental lawsuit will delay completion of the project.
