Islanders will have to turn to Congress

Monday, November 30, 2009

THE BEST thing that can be said about the $1.5 million settlement of Dauphin Island residents' lawsuit against the federal government is that it ends nearly a decade of legal wrangling over the impact of dredging in the Mobile Ship Channel.

But that $1.5 million won't go very far toward achieving a solution for the erosion that's destroying the island's west end. Many millions of dollars will be needed to support a project aimed at mitigating the damage caused by storms and the daily pounding of waves on the island's beaches.

The $1.44 million provided by the federal government in the settlement (the state of Alabama will pay another $60,000) may fund a feasibility study for a beach renourishment project as well as limited engineering work. However, the Dauphin Island Property Owners Association obviously hoped for more when it filed a lawsuit in 2000 claiming that dredging by the U.S. Army of Corps of Engineers in the Mobile Ship Channel was causing erosion on the island.

But as Dauphin Island Mayor Jeff Collier said, that battle is over now. Islanders must change their focus and redouble their efforts to persuade Congress to include Dauphin Island in the massive federal restoration of the barrier islands in the Mississippi Sound.

Earlier this year, Congress approved $439 million to restore Mississippi's barrier islands.

Dauphin Island is part of the same barrier island chain, but Congress didn't see fit to include it in the restoration program.

In approving the funding, Congress noted that the program offers many benefits, including building up islands that serve as a buffer against storms. The project's value as a coastal protection measure also should help economic redevelopment in areas hard-hit by Hurricane Katrina.

These goals dovetail with Dauphin Island residents' beach restoration plans. We hope U.S. Rep. Jo Bonner and Alabama's U.S. senators, Jeff Sessions and Richard Shelby, will carry that message to the Capitol next year.

Posted by Robin Linn on December 1st, 2009 7:44 AMPost a Comment (0)

Subscribe to this blog

Town Hall Meeting with Spencer Collier - January 4, 2009

December 22nd, 2009 11:00 AM

Representative Spencer Collier
Town Hall Meeting - January 4, 2009 at 6PM
Dauphin Island Town Hall
Public Welcome

*Town Council agenda meeting will take place at 7pm

WANDA M. SANDAGGER

BUILDING DEPT. ADMIN. ASST.

TOWN OF DAUPHIN ISLAND

1011 BIENVILLE BLVD

DAUPHIN ISLAND, AL 36528

251-861-5525 TEL

251-861-2154 FAX

WSANDAGGER@TOWNOFDAUPHINISLAND.ORG

Posted by Robin Linn on December 22nd, 2009 11:00 AMPost a Comment (0)

Subscribe to this blog

Dauphin Island to Receive $1.5 Million in Congressional Funds for a Shoreline Stabilization Study

December 22nd, 2009 10:26 AM

With past berms wiped away, $1.5 million to be spent on Dauphin Island beach study

By Gary McElroy

December 22, 2009, 6:45AM

(Press-Register) DAUPHIN ISLAND, Ala. -- A $1.5 million congressional appropriation gave Dauphin Island a positive surge Monday in its efforts to shore up its precarious west end.

U.S. Rep. Jo Bonner, R-Mobile: "Dauphin Island's role in shielding coastal areas from the brunt of storms is one that we can no longer afford to take for granted."The money sought by U.S. Rep. Jo Bonner, R-Mobile, will fund a study of stabilizing beach erosion.

The study, headed by Scott Douglass, a professor at the University of South Alabama and a noted coastal engineer, will go a long way, both men said Monday, in addressing erosion problems that plague the island.

"Dauphin Island's role in shielding coastal areas from the brunt of storms is one that we can no longer afford to take for granted," Bonner said.

The island serves as a natural shield for south Mobile County by reducing high water and wave intensity during major storms.

If this protection were to be jeopardized, so too would be that for estuaries, marshes, oyster beds and inland homes and development, Dauphin Island Mayor Jeff Collier said.

The west end breach has been cited by fishermen as one of the causes of higher salinity in the Mississippi Sound, leading to an increase in predatory snails -- oyster drills -- that have decimated area oyster reefs, Collier said.

Bonner said that action to rebuild the natural barrier and stabilize erosion was a good investment for people of the island and coastal areas of the county.

"We cannot control the frequency or intensity of future storms, but we can better utilize natural protections, such as our barrier islands, to lessen the severity of local destruction," he said.

The study will consider beach nourishment as an answer, Douglass said, pointing out that both Orange Beach and Gulf Shores have succeeded in stabilizing their coastlines through sand replenishment.

The congressional funding, Douglass said, will help determine whether such beach nourishment can solve some of the island's problems.

Douglass said he envisions one solution incorporating "large amounts of sand -- millions of cubic yards" being taken from deposits now sitting in huge quantities offshore in the Gulf of Mexico, not far south of the island.

Posted by Robin Linn on December 22nd, 2009 10:26 AMPost a Comment (0)

Subscribe to this blog

Message from DIPOA 12-03-09

December 4th, 2009 2:59 PM

Dauphin Island

PROPERTY OWNERS ASSOCIATION

P.O. Box 39 (251)861-2343

Dauphin Island, AL 36528 dipoaoffice@skyynett.com

Thursday, December 03, 2009

Dear Dauphin Island Property Owners,

A special thanks goes out our Dauphin Island Property owners’ volunteers Deb Coffee, Vicki Helm and Jack Gaines Sr.! Thank you so much for all of your hard work and to bear witness to your passion of the Isle Dauphine Club House. It was an unexpected perk and we never could have asked for more dedicated volunteers. Words cannot express how grateful we are to have you here. It is a pleasure and a privilege to work with you.

The key to our success with the cleanup of the club house rests in people like you. Thanks for your inspiring dedication and tremendous example to the Island. Our work is not finished, it has just started.

Volunteers don't necessarily have the time, but they have the heart. The gift of time is priceless and those who can help us again on December 6, 2009 between the hours of 1 till 5pm will be able to enjoy refreshments, not to mention the chance to reminisce of their memories of the Isle Dauphine of day past!