As opposition to a mitigation bank on Sarasota Bay grows, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection is acknowledging its regulatory oversight is limited to “within the bank.”
Long Bar Pointe LLLP, including Sarasota developers Larry Lieberman and Carlos Beruff — who announced his U.S. Senate bid in February — control the proposed 260-acre bank, including 2 miles of mangrove forests southeast of Cortez.
A growing online petition begun by former Manatee County Commissioner Joe McClash — with 367 signatures as of March 12 — asks the DEP to deny Beruff’s application.
The petition emphasizes the plans leave room for the channel dredging turned down by Manatee County in 2013.
A March 4 email from DEP deputy press secretary Dee Ann Miller may validate the petitioners’ concerns. Clarifying her prior statement about the DEP not allowing dredging, she added the words “within the bank.”
Asked about developer plans to dredge and build a lagoon or seawall on 7.5 acres of the proposed bank, Miller wrote: “The proposed mitigation bank application does not include, nor will the permit authorize, this type of activity within the bank.”
When bulldozers begin moving earth, animals are displaced and their habitats are disrupted.
The Long Bar Pointe mitigation bank is proposed alongside a planned mixed-use development of 3,200 homes and 230,000 square feet of commercial space.
Glenn Compton, director of ManaSota-88, a 1,000-member Manatee-Sarasota environmental group, called the proposed side-by-side mitigation and development “a new twist” likely to interfere with stable ecosystems.
Development and mitigation activities are inconsistent, he said.
Mitigation bank owners/developers stand to gain from “what they are already required to do by other agencies,” Compton added.
Besides, he said, seagrasses, mangroves and coastal habitat are already government-protected.
The issue is under review after the DEP wrote to Southwest Florida Water Management District and Manatee County in February, looking for overlapping mitigation activities, according to Miller.
As far as coastal protection, she pointed to state laws that allow dredging and filling activities by permit.
Since 2013, former Manatee County Commissioners McClash and Jane von Hahmann, rallied in opposition to Long Bar Pointe coastline proposals.
Suncoast Waterkeeper, ManaSota-88 and the Manatee-Sarasota chapter of Sierra Club, also have joined the dissent.
An August 2013 showdown ended with Manatee County refusal to change its comp plan to accommodate Beruff’s previous plans for a hotel, marina and residences.
McClash warns the threat of a marina remains “since the mitigation bank is not continuous and has a break along the shoreline of about 150 feet — just wide enough for that channel.”
Von Hahmann said, “I think (Beruff) is going to have a very tough, tough time, pulling this through,” adding other state and federal agencies still must weigh in.
In addition to a DEP permit, the Long Bar Pointe mitigation bank requires federal authorization by several agencies led by the U.S. Corps of Engineers.
According to Corps communications officer Nakier Nobles on March 10, the developers have not submitted a Corps mitigation bank application.
It would, however, be the first mitigation bank in the south Tampa Bay area.
In Long Bar Pointe’s September 2015 application to the DEP, Alec D. Hoffner of ECo Consultants called the bank “a critical regional mitigation option.”
No private mitigation bank serves the Southern Coastal Watershed Basin, which includes portions of Manatee, Sarasota and Charlotte counties, according to Hoffner.
Mitigation bankers say banking is cost effective in restoring natural resources, can reduce delays in permitting, eliminates the temporary loss of natural resources during development and assures maintenance, according to a website of the Florida Association of Mitigation Bankers, a group of about 50 mitigation bankers and corporate members.
Destroying wetlands in one place only to make up for it in another is routinely criticized.
If permitted as a bank, not only will Long Bar Pointe be able to sell credits to other developers in the three-county service area, the developer may sell to itself for Aqua or any other project.
And the DEP condones the practice so long as it properly offsets impacts in the service area, according to Miller.
Von Hahmann said permitting Beruff’s bank would be “a bad precedent” that may allow developers across the state to run mitigation banks and profit from destroying natural areas.
“The permit seems very unusual,” Sierra Club-Manatee-Sarasota conservation committee chair Sandy Ripberger said.
“The mangroves are so pristine. It’s just not compatible to set up a mitigation area. (Mitigation banks) are to improve impacted, degraded areas,” she added.
Mitigation banks: a primer
Mitigation banking is a legalized way for developers to destroy wetlands in one place by paying to enhance the natural area of another.
About 80 mitigation banks in Florida are monitored and permitted by government agencies, including the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
Developers required “to mitigate” as an offset for wetland destruction pay for “credits” into a bank and the funds are used to restore or enhance degraded ecosystems or preserve uplands or wetlands.
Each credit represents a value equivalent to complete 1 acre of wetland restoration.
The DEP sets the amount of credits a mitigation bank can sell.
The market and bank owners determine the price paid per acre.
Petitioners comment vs. mitigation bank
More than 146 comments from former Manatee County commissioners, as well as Cortez and Anna Maria Island residents, are rallying against the proposed Long Bar Pointe mitigation bank.
The petition reads, “Mitigation banks have to prove a so-called ‘lift’ to the environmental conditions. Most projects include restoration. (The plan) would mainly be preservation of wetlands, mangrove swamps and submerged lands already protected.”
The petition was created by former Manatee County Commissioner Joe McClash.
Former Manatee County Commissioner Jane von Hahmann of Cortez was the first to sign and comment, “The kicker is that the mitigation bank has a break along the shoreline that would allow for a future boat channel to accommodate his marina development.”
Holmes Beach resident Marlane Wurzbach wrote, “Our environmental safety should not be for sale! The mangroves/shoreline environment are just too vital for storm protection and as marine-life nurseries to let this company destroy them for personal profit.”
Holmes Beach Commissioner Carol Soustek indicated the failure of past mitigation.
Another Holmes Beach commissioner, Jean Peelen, wrote, “There has to be a definitive ‘no’ given to this developer who has no problem destroying our wetlands.”
Joe Kane of Cortez pleaded, “Save our bay. We need lovers of the environment to stop the degradation of the bay.”
“This has got to stop,” commented Tjet Martin of Bradenton Beach.
Capt. Kathe Fannon of Cortez wrote, “Once you destroy that shoreline you can never replace it,” adding the proposed site is where thousands of horseshoe crab spawn their eggs each year.
Kim McVey of Cortez commented, “Leave what’s left alone.”
The petition is available at www.ipetitions.com/petition/deny-beruffs-mitigation-bank-permit-a-ploy-to.