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NewslettersWal-Mart to take Lady's Island wetlands?
Submitted by Meghann Ackerman on Thu, 2008-05-22 11:34.
Wal-Mart is seeking permission to fill in .39 acres of wetlands on Lady's Island.
Regardless of how you feel about Wal-Mart, does it kind of bother you that, according to Brandon Honig's article, "In its application to the coastal management office, Wal-Mart said it plans to mitigate for the impact of the project by developing wetlands elsewhere and is searching for suitable land"?
Isn't the point of wetlands that, you know, they're natural?
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..."happens to be one of the nation’s leading sources of water pollution, so it goes without saying that the rest of the surrounding wetlands - the ones not destroyed to build the store - would also be in jeopardy".
http://walmartwatch.com/blog/archives/wal_mart_wants_to_build_on_protected_wetlands_in_south_carolina/
...if you jump on this bandwagon were gunna talk about you at the Blixxer!..... just sayin...
...whatever you say ...I'm gonna find out about it!
BTW, I have been sited on roof tops and cruising by in a black Lincoln.
The below form letter, if sent by the local folks, will require OCRM to at the least have a public forum before the wet land destruction is rubber stamped. If you have a 42 cent stamp, and do not wish to be bullied by this thoughtless invador, cut and paste the letter, sign it with your address and mail it off. Have a good weekend and stay out of W-M.
May 23, 2008
Reference: P/N #2008-0794-1IW, application by Wal-Mart Real Estate Business Trust, c/o Newkirk Environmental, Inc.
SCDHEC Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management
104 Parker Drive
Beaufort, SC 29906
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
ATTN: REGULATORY DIVISION
69A Hagood Avenue
Charleston, South Carolina 29403-5107
Dear OCRM/USCOE:
The above referenced application is for filling of 0.39 acres of critical area wetlands on a 25.66 acre site along US Highway 21 on Lady’s Island, Beaufort County. The proposed project is within the city limits of the City of Beaufort.
This application should be denied outright because the plan submitted has been denied by the City of Beaufort and the City of Beaufort Zoning Board of Appeals because the plan fails to conform with the zoning for the property. As it stands, this is not an application for wetlands filling to facilitate a construction project, but for nothing more than to fill 0.39 acres of wetlands.
If the applicant is successful in a legal challenge to the City’s decision that the plan does not meet zoning requirements, then the applicant would be free to resubmit their application.
This application must be denied because it (1) misrepresents what can be built on the property and (2) the Site Plan (Sheet 2) does not meet the requirement for “A plan or drawing showing the applicant’s proposal…” (R.30-2.B(2)) as part of the requirements for a Permit Application. Also, since this Site Plan has been denied for development by the City of Beaufort, the proposed wetlands alterations do not represent any approved plan for use of the property and do not meet requirements of R.30-2.B(6) for “…description of the proposed alteration”.
In addition the application is incomplete because it (1) does not offer a mitigation plan which can be evaluated for consistency with policies and regulations (R.30-4.G(2)) and (2) does not include a stormwater management plan as expected to meet guideline for submitting plans and designs “as a whole” instead of “piecemeal” (R.30-11.C(2)), and as required for major projects under R.30-2.B(8). Stormwater management is especially important for this property because of the extensive building and parking areas proposed.
I wish to be informed about any decisions or actions taken regarding this application.
Respectfully,
Not trying to sound like a wise guy here but isn't everything about 5 feet and less above sea level "wet-lands"? (wait till there is a high tide hurricane......)That would be what about a half of Beaufort county including every one that is complainings own home on Ladys Island.
A high tide hurricane will put 95% of the county under water.
I don't believe that is the issue nor the subject matter of this blog.
It's pretty simple, either sit on your hands and watch LI become Bluffton, or print the form letter, sign it, include your address and mail it off to the address on the header. The choice is yours.
is a complicated process. And because of that it would be in the anti-LI walmart folks best interest to get their own evaluation of the wetlands being impacted to determine the actual acreage - it could be more than .39 acres as w-m has reported in its application. Then OCRM will look at both "measures" and draw the line as an average between the two.
What has always irritated me about this state is how DNR and DHEC have always touted they were leaders in development of environmental protection laws, yet we have nearly lost our federal funding for coastal zone management programs several times because of our slack aaplication of the regulations for wetlands protection. So much for fulfilling the "no net loss of wetlands mandate." And we wonder why fisheries are in decline while flooding is on the rise.
Remember too that water flows from the mountains to the sea - so that means all the rain and runoff from the upstate eventually drains to here. If we don't have the wetlands the water is still going to come to us - and just where will it go, and just how will it get filtered before reaching the ocean if it doesn't go through a wetland? Wetlands protections weren't put into place just to protect pretty fish and scenic views. They are vital for flood control and water purification. Do you realize modern technology in wastewater reclamation involves filtering the finished wastewater through a wetland?
Some argue that "gee, its only 1/2 an acre?" Well, with easily 200 w-m's in the coastal zone of our nation that adds up to 100 acres of wetlands lost. And then you have all the other thousands of operations that have taken merely 1/5 to 1/2 acre... it seriously adds up. Just ask any millionaire if they count pennies.
Let's all hope this is a good sign that it will be built. Built it and they will come.