RiverPort could be detrimental to coastal environment, opponents say
The Coastal Conservation League has joined officials of the Savannah National Wildlife Refuge in opposing a 5,000-acre development near the refuge which they fear could irreversibly harm the sensitive coastal environment.
RiverPort, a 5,000-acre residential, commercial and industrial project proposed in Hardeeville, would straddle I-95 and include much of the land between the highway and the refuge, which covers almost 30,000 acres along the Savannah River.
The developers applied in April to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and state environmental officials for permission to alter 70-plus acres of wetlands, proposing to restore and preserve wetlands elsewhere on the site and buy credits from a mitigation bank to compensate for impacts on the wetlands.
However, the project would mean much more that just the loss of wetlands, according to Chuck Hayes, supervisory wildlife biologist for the Savannah Coastal Refuges Complex.
“Many other aspects of this development raise concerns, including, but not limited to, water quality and quantity, air quality, introduction of invasive species, increased disturbance to wildlife, and increased vandalism and damage to refuge property,” Hayes wrote to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which must give approval for the project to proceed.
According to Corps documents, the Corps district engineer determined “the project is not likely to adversely affect any federally endangered, threatened, or proposed species or result in the destruction or adverse modification of designated or proposed critical habitat.”
The Coastal Conservation League has asked for a public hearing on the application.
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