SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — A $62 million project to dredge Puerto Rico’s largest and most important port began Wednesday amid fierce opposition from environmentalists and pending litigation.
Crews from California-based Curtin Maritime are working to open San Juan Bay to navigation for large vessels, including tankers serving a new liquid natural gas terminal on Puerto Rico’s north coast. cubic feet) of seabed will be removed.
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Officials said the dredged material, with approval from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, will be deposited in the Atlantic Ocean 2 nautical miles (4 kilometers) north of U.S. territory.
A project to dredge Puerto Rico’s largest seaport began Wednesday amid opposition from environmental activists. (AP Photo/Ricardo Arduengo)
Gov. Pedro Pierluigi said the project, overseen by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, is expected to provide a $400 million boost to the local economy, adding that dredging will be completed by October.
He dismissed concerns from environmentalists that the project would endanger wildlife and humans. “This has already been approved at all federal levels, including environmental impacts,” he said.
In August 2022, the Arizona-based nonprofit Center for Biological Diversity filed a federal lawsuit against the U.S. government, claiming the project could destroy coral and seagrass beds and suck in turtles and other marine life. filed a lawsuit.
The case is pending in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., and the last hearing was held in January.
“We’re hopeful that a decision will be made soon,” Katherine Kilduff, an attorney for the Center for Biological Diversity, said in a phone interview.
“The dredging itself can cause sedimentation and kill corals,” she says. “We are concerned that this dredging project could be a harbinger of death, as these corals are affected by disease and rising ocean temperatures.”
Kilduff said the center is also concerned about manatees swimming in San Juan Bay. Manatees depend on seagrass for food and are often hit by ships.
He said the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers last dredged the bay in the early 2000s and promised to plant an acre of seagrass.
“They haven’t done it yet,” she said.
Kilduff noted that the federal government instituted a public comment period on the dredging project in 2017 when Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico as a Category 4 storm, leaving the island without power and passable roads.
A USACE spokesperson could not be reached for comment.
As the governor shared details of the project Wednesday, dredgers began operations in the background.
Officials said the drilling depth could be up to 46 feet (14 meters), with some areas of San Juan Bay currently ranging from 36 feet (11 meters) to 42 feet (13 meters) deep.
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“The Port of San Juan is an economic engine and critical lifeline for Puerto Rico,” Col. Charles Decker of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said in a statement. “This is an incredible investment in Puerto Rico’s future.”
The Corps is investing approximately $45 million in the project, with the remainder provided by the Puerto Rican government.
