Analysis of Environmental Impacts from the Port of Miami Expansion. Julienne Beblo

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1 Analysis of Environmental Impacts from the Port of Miami Expansion Julienne Beblo

2 The Port of Miami One of the most prominent ports for global tourism and commerce Contributes $28 billion/yr to the local economy Total Tonnage: 7.7 million (inbound & outbound, 2014) Supports 207,000 jobs Link to cargo from the Panama Canal million approved for florida seaports to sustain competitiveness/port of miami image portmiami florida small/

3 Expansion Panama Canal has recently been expanded to accommodate larger cargo vessels (aka: post Panamax ships) Miami and other ports have followed Expected to significantly increase economic revenue and provide additional jobs Widening Port of Miami channel opening from 500ft to 800ft Deepening channel from 44ft to 52ft

4 Agencies Involved Army Corps of Engineers oversaw project Dial Cordy conducted environmental impact analysis Great Lakes Dredge and Docks completed dredging activities Dredging from November 2013 August 2015

5 Mitigation Efforts completed baseline sediment study 4 weeks prior to start of dredging ACOE projected impacts up to 150m from channel Dredge materials were disposed of at an off shore site using Spider & Transport barges Created hard bottom for coral settlement 31 Acropora colonies were identified for relocation

6 Issues with Mitigation ACOE noted that sediment blocks did not collect sediment despite settlement around the block dewatering of sediment barges released sediment plumes DEP, NOAA, & MWK identified sedimentation effects >200m from the channel Mitigation boulders found on top of living corals 248 Acropora colonies found NOAA divers unable to access all colonies for relocation due to anchored dredging barge NOAA divers noticed excessive sedimentation

7 Study Site and Objective To utilize GIS in an effort to analyze possible shortterm and long term environmental impacts on marine habitats and organisms from the Port of Miami Dredging Study site focused around the Port channel

8 Data from Florida s Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission Imported Google Earth Image of the Port and dredging activities Input Google Image into GIS for sediment analysis as a shapefile Acropora Priority Sites as a shapefile Clipped shapefile to study area Overlayed shapefile of sediment plume & trail Calculated area of the sediment plume & trail shapefiles Mangrove Habitat as a shapefile Clipped shapefile to study area Performed Mean Center & Directional Distribution Analysis Overlayed shapefile of sediment plume & trail Manatee Distribution as a table Clipped data to study area Performed Mean Center & Directional Distribution Analysis Performed Point Density Analysis on distribution points Patchy & Continuous Seagrass Cover and Johnson s Seagrass Critical Habitat as a shapefile Clipped data to study area Overlayed shapefile of sediment plume & trail Overlayed shapefile of sediment plume & trail Performed Nearest Neighbor Analysis to identify clustering

9 Google Earth image of the Port of Miami; dredging machinery and sediment plumes are also evident in the water

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11 Area of Resources: Continuous & Patchy Seagrass: 50,355,274 m 2 Johnson s Seagrass: 37,883,764 m 2 Mangrove Cover: 1,390,453 m 2 Johnson s Seagrass, Acropora, and manatees are all listed under the Endangered Species Act

12 Johnson s Seagrass is the only marine plant to be listed under the Endangered Species Act

13 Manatees to be downlisted from endangered to threatened Z score = <1% that clustered pattern is result of random chance

14 Acropora species listed as threatened in 2006 Dial Cordy identified 31 staghorn colonies within proximity of dredging Relocation efforts found 248 colonies, not all of which were able to be relocated

15 Potential Short Term Impacts: Coral and seagrass sedimentation Change in animal behavior Potential Long Term Impacts: Degradation of ecosystems (i.e. smothered corals and seagrass) and Johnson s seagrass critical habitat Environmental agencies estimate that 250 acres of corals have been severely impacted Change in available feeding grounds for manatees

16 Future Actions Port Everglades in Ft. Lauderdale is planning to deepen and widen its canal Miami dredging should be used to help mitigate environmental issues impacts in Miami have not been fully evaluated Miami has the potential to show how development can work in conjunction with environmental protection rather than against it

17 Value of GIS Shows overlap of various species habitats for more thorough environmental assessment Permits measurement of area of sediment plumes and trails which can be applied to similar projects and mitigation efforts With improved data collection before and after a marine dredging project, better metrics for understanding environmental impacts can be identified Questions?