05-29-2003 Bayport Expansion Review Committee Meeting

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" . I> e e ,. COASTAL UPDATE - THE BAYPORT FEIS By Jim Blackburn May 17,2003 I am writing another of my occasional papers about a topic of coastal concern. This time I am focused on the Port of Houston Authority's proposed BaYP0l1 container port. The Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) on this project was released May 16,2003, and there are some amazing findings and information reveale~ in this document. Most of this information is being made public for the first time, and the Corps is only giving us 30 days to respond. There is a chance that one of the worst projects in the past 30 years on the Upper Coast could be permitted if we do not, as a coastal community, stand up and stop it. The purpose of this update is to provide you with some information and to ask you to do something about this bad project that should not be allowed to happen. 1. Background '. The Port of Houston Authority is proposing to construct the Bayport container port on approximately 1100 acres ofland in Southeastern Harris County. The site is located between Seabrook and Shoreacres/LaPorte and is bounded on the south by Pine Gully, on the east by Galveston Bay and the EI Jardin subdivision of Pasadena and on the north by the Bayport deepwater channel. The permit application was first filed in 1998. The application proposes the construction of seven container ship berths and three cruise ship berths, associated docks and storage. and a rail yard. There will be approximately 5000 trucks in and 5000 trucks out each day as well as 8-8000 foot long trains each day. The docks at Bayport are being provided with a depth of 56 feet even though the Houston Ship Channel is only authorized to 45 feet of depth. The cost of the proposed Bayport facility is $1.2 billion, provided by taxpayers: There has been a long and continuing fight regarding this facility. Since 1998, the Galveston Bay Conservation and Preservation Association (GBCP A), as well as other environmental groups, have been fighting this facility. A scoping meeting was conducted on environmental studies back in 1999 that was attended by 2,500 people and over 6,000 people came to the hearing on the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) that . was conducted in December, 2001, at the George R. Brown Convention Center in downtown Houston. On May 16,2003, the FEIS was released, and rather than resolving issues about this site, the FEIS has only raised more serious questions about this project. . It is important to note that another container port recently has been permitted on the Galveston Bay system. On April 15, 2003, Col. 'Waterworth of the Galveston District signed the Record of Decision that approved the issuance of the permit to construct the Shoal Point container facility at Texas City. The Shoal Point facility is located on a spoil disposal island located behind the Texas City industrial complex in Galveston Bay. The Shoal Point facility will actually move more containers, as measured in TEU's, than will the proposed Bayport facility. In the Record of Decision, Col. Waterworth determined I