If the third time is truly the charm, Sebastian’s chronically delayed Oyster Bag Project, which has hovered like a raincloud over the Natural Resources Board for a year and a half, may finally, at long last, get underway in early 2016.
Sebastian Public Works Director Frank Watanabe is confident enough to declare, “We should get the permit now.”
Why has it taken so long? A quartet of agencies – the Army Corps of Engineers, St. Johns River Water Management District, Florida Inland Navigation District and Florida Fish and Wildlife Service – all had concerns and questions. The first two times the application was submitted it was returned with requests for additional information. Just when the NRB thought all the questions had been answered and requirements met, new concerns popped up.
An initial concern was that the first locations proposed for the project, originally meant to use oyster mats, were on private property. Then, further information was requested about whether the water would be shallow enough – 18 inches or less – so the oysters would not be submerged all the time; whether the project would interfere with river navigation; and whether it would be too close to the shoreline.
As the permit application was going back and forth, and the months were passing, oyster restoration “technology” was changing. The City was informed by St. Johns that the project would need to ditch the oyster mats concept and use, instead, oyster bags.
In mid-2014, when the project was first proposed, local Boy Scout John Giordano chose it as his Eagle Scout project, and received approval from the City Council. Since then, he has kept busy coordinating with the City, and gathering required data.
Watanabe praised the enterprising young man, saying “he did all the homework.”
Giordano researched bag specifications, suppliers and cost; determined optimum water temperature for oyster spawning; and prepared a chart showing high and low water temperatures at proposed locations. He drew a diagram of the project, including location and placement of 80 bags containing 200 shells each.
If the permit, in its third iteration, is finally approved, the project will still be on track for installation during the optimum oyster reproduction season next spring.
