Officials conduct Matanzas Pass dredging walk-through
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and numerous organizations, government agencies and regulatory offices conducted an informal walk-through Thursday, July 16, at Fort Myers Beach to celebrate ‘completion’ of the dredging of Matanzas Pass.
Officially known as the “Fort Myers Beach Operations and Maintenance Project,” the culmination of the dredging work at Matanzas Pass which represents an extraordinary level of teamwork, resulted in it being nominated for the prestigious U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Delivery Team of the Year Award for 2009.
The Fort Myers Beach Operations and Maintenance project is located at an extremely dynamic inlet known as Matanzas Pass. A U.S. Coast Guard Search and Rescue station is located at this inlet and depends on Matanzas Pass as its main outlet to the Gulf of Mexico in Southwest Florida.
“This project was expedient and successful because everyone worked together,” said Corps Project Manager Jackie Keiser. “The dredging became a serious and immediate issue when the Coast Guard and Rescue station could no longer perform their jobs. Loss of life could have been at issue if the work had not been performed quickly. The Corps, with the help of our partners, worked hard to complete the project early and enable the Coast Guard station once again be fully functional.”
In February 2009 the Jacksonville District received a letter from the Coast Guard requesting immediate assistance due to the shoaling, which induced an imminent threat to human life, safety and the environment. Since the Passage of Tropical Storm Fay the Coast Guard had responded to nine groundings of commercial vessels, innumerous recreational boat groundings, and the grounding of its own Cutter. Search and rescue missions were becoming restricted to high tide only and the Coast Guard was fearful that cruise vessels using the inlet would ground and require the rescue of up to 500 passengers aboard. Additionally, the large wooden hulled fishing fleet which used the inlet posed a threat to the environment in the event of a grounding and fuel spill.
At the direction of Brig. Gen. Joe Schroedel, then South Atlantic Division commander, a Jacksonville District team was immediately assembled and tasked to design the project and award a contract in the most expedient and efficient manner possible. It soon became clear to the team that environmental clearances were the critical path. The project delivery team coordinated extensively with the resource agencies, sponsor, council and the major subordinate command technical experts.
Unfortunately there was no quick resolution under typical procedures. Through innovative thinking and knowledge of Corps regulations, procedures, and tools, the team came up the plan of pursuing an emergency declaration under 33 CFR Part 337.7. This action had never been pursued on a Jacksonville District civil works project, but after extensive coordination with all of the partners, Schroedel provided emergency authorization Feb. 6, 2009. This precedent setting action enabled the team to execute in record time. The project will be complete in August.
A full contingent of representatives from the Corps’ Jacksonville District office were on hand for the event as well as representatives of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, the Florida State Historic Preservation Office, the U.S. Coast Guard, the West Coast Inland Navigation District of Florida, Lee County and the Town of Fort Myers Beach.