Federal documents indicate that the N.C. Department of Transportation’s Currituck-to-Corolla passenger ferry service that was to start May 1 this year was doomed from the start. A May 2003 feasibility study presented to the General Assembly by Ferry Division Director Jerry Gaskill failed to mention past problems in obtaining a dredging permit at the Corolla end of the route.
In 2002 Currituck County officials said a ferry service was necessary because Currituck public school students on the Outer Banks would no longer be able to attend the closer Dare County public schools. They said the bus ride for students to the mainland would be too long. With State Senate President Pro Tem Marc Basnight of Dare County as the driving force, the N.C. General Assembly appropriated $834,000 in June 2003 for the project. That appropriation was based on Gaskill’s study that said, … “the proposed ferry service is feasible, assuming the appropriate permits can be obtained.” But in the study, Gaskill failed to address two previous unsuccessful attempts by Currituck County to obtain a dredging permit for the Corolla location.
The new ferry service has been plagued with problems. The 50-foot, 50- passenger pontoon boat has been delivered to the state shipyard in Manns Harbor, but service cannot start because the boat has nowhere to operate at Corolla. The plans for the project called for a floating concrete dock to be attached to an existing pier at the Currituck County property known as the Whalehead Club.
In addition, state and federal agencies have launched investigations into illegal dredging by the Ferry Division. The Corolla landing was damaged in May 2004 by a Ferry Division workboat that used its propeller to cut out a large section of the sound bottom. N. C. Department of Transportation documents show that dredging at Corolla was necessary and was in the project budget, but neither NCDOT nor Currituck County have applied for a permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
Gaskill told newspapers that the incident was an accident and happened when the boat got stuck marking the channel. If intentional, the process is known as “kicking” a channel. The new channel is estimated to be 700 feet by 30 feet and 5 to 6 feet in depth. Previously the area was 2 feet deep.
In response to the “accident,” the N.C. Division of Coastal Management issued NCDOT a violation notice in June 2004 for dredging without a permit. The Corps of Engineers, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and other government organizations are investigating the incident.
The 1996 application
The Whalehead Club was originally developed as a private hunting and fishing club during the 1920s. The centerpiece of the property is a large home, but the Corolla lighthouse is adjacent to the site. A 36-slip boat basin was built in the late 1980s, but because of shallow water in the Currituck Sound only shallow-draft boats can enter the basin. Currituck County acquired the property in 1992 after a private developer went bankrupt. Hoping to attract tourists, the county continues to make improvements to the site.
In July 1996 Currituck County applied to the Corps of Engineers for authorization to dredge an access channel to the basin, place rocks along the shoreline, and place fill material into wetlands. As standard procedure, the Corps circulated the application to several state and federal agencies for review and comment.
In August 1996 the National Marine Fisheries Service of the U.S. Department of Commerce recommended to the Corps that the dredging permit be denied. “We have determined that this work would result in an unacceptable loss of habitat that supports NMFS trust resources of national importance and recommend that federal authorization of this project not be granted,” wrote Assistant Regional Director Andreas Mager, Jr.
Also in August the state Division of Coastal Management put a hold on the dredging project until Currituck County prepared and environmental assessment. Those events put the entire request on hold, so in September 1996 Currituck County withdrew the dredging request from the permit application. The other two components were permitted.
The 2000 application
In June 2000 Currituck County applied again for a permit to dredge a channel at the same site in Corolla, and again state and federal agencies opposed the project.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service objected to the dredging. “If permitted, the proposed activities will have irreversible and significant adverse impacts on important fish and wildlife resources and aquatic resources of national importance,” said Ecological Services Supervisor Garland Pardue in a letter to the Corps. The National Marine Fisheries Service of the U.S. Department of Commerce also recommended against the project because it would harm commercial fishing.
The EPA also wrote the Corps, saying, “The State Field Investigation Report states that there are no records of dredging in Currituck Sound, Whalehead Bay, or at the Whalehead Club. Therefore, EPA does not believe that this project proposal constitutes maintenance dredging, and it should not be considered such. It is the opinion of EPA that this project, as proposed, may result in substantial and unacceptable impacts to aquatic resources of national importance. We request that authorization for this project be denied.”
Based on “a significant adverse impact to fisheries resources,” the N. C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources also objected to the dredging. “It is necessary that your request for a permit under the state Dredge and Fill Law be denied,” Division of Coastal Management Director Donna Moffitt wrote in a letter to Currituck County officials. She also noted that as long as a state permit denial stands, no federal permit could be issued. On Oct. 24, 2000, the Corps notified Currituck County that the permit to dredge had been denied.
Carolina Journal submitted questions to Gaskill about the permit’s history being omitted in the feasibility study presented to the General Assembly, but at press time he had not responded.
What’s next?
DOT Board member Stan M. White of Nags Head said that he understood dredging was desirable, but that the boat could operate without a new channel. “It was my understanding that under normal conditions it would be OK,” he said.
DOT Deputy Secretary David King said that on some days, with a strong northeast wind, the sound can be too shallow to operate in. But even if there is enough water there are other concerns. “Even if there is plenty water, there are going to be days that it is going to be too rough to have a boxy little ferry with kids in it out in Currituck Sound. It will not be a reliable day-in-and-day-out way to get these kids across. When the weather is fine … it is going to be just peachy, but that’s not going to be all the time, by any stretch of the imagination,” he said. He acknowledged that a backup bus system is necessary.
He also said that DOT is now considering moving the Corolla landing location. Officials are studying the building of a pier into the sound in an area where there is a better natural channel that would not require dredging.
While the project was initially supposed to assist up to 40 students, CJ has learned that there will be only six students involved this year. As previously reported, a new Dare County elementary school scheduled to open next year should alleviate the crowding situation and the need to transport any students across the water.
Former Superintendent of Dredge and Field Maintenance Bill Moore, who reported directly to Gaskill, claimed responsibility for illegal dredging. He resigned from state government Sept. 30. Moore and Gaskill were the focus of a raid on Ferry Division offices by state and federal law enforcement officials Aug. 26. Items seized included work orders, memos, files, notebooks, computer hard drives, a laptop computer, and “documents from Gaskill’s leather portfolio.”
If state or federal prosecutors charge Gaskill or Moore for the incident, state government lawyers may not be able to defend them. “The joint SBI-EPA investigation is ongoing at this time. We have not received any requests to provide representation related to this investigation. We routinely advise individuals to consult with a private attorney if they believe they may bear criminal culpability,” Department of Justice spokeswoman Noelle Talley said.
Don Carrington is associate publisher of Carolina Journal.