Regulators to discuss Sea Pines dredging in Charleston

Representatives of the South Island Dredging Association will meet with state and federal regulators Wednesday in Charleston to discuss dredging Sea Pines’ waterways on Hilton Head Island.

The inter-agency meeting will be hosted by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and will likely include officials from the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control, S.C. Department of Natural Resources, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and National Marine Fisheries Service, according to a member of the dredging association.

The purpose of the meeting is to discuss regulatory issues and concerns involved with the association’s efforts to dump spoil dredged from the Harbour Town Yacht Basin and creeks within the gated community into designated areas of Calibogue Sound. A spokesman for the Army Corps of Engineers’ Charleston District said regulators plan to discuss whether the disposal is an option and, if so, material testing that would be required to secure needed state and federal permits.

The meeting is not open to the public.

Sea Pines leaders abandoned a push for legislation creating a special tax within the gated community to pay for dredging its waterways following outcry from homeowners. A short-term plan to dredge Harbour Town Yacht Basin was also derailed after Calibogue Cay property owners rejected a request for one-time use of the community's disposal site.

Sea Pines officials have since shifted their focus on building support for dumping spoil dredged from Sea Pines marinas and creeks into Calibogue Sound. The community's two governing board passed a joint resolution in November endorsing hydraulic dredging of the waterways with inshore, open-water disposal. A copy of the resolution was sent to Beaufort County and Town of Hilton Head Island officials.

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