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Today is the first day of court in the Privy Council for the residents of Great Guana Cay versus Discovery Land Company and the Bahamian government. I thought this would be a good time to review some of the primary concerns about the golf course and the marina. First, however, I just received this photograph which shows the construction of lots on the Sea of Abaco side of the island. Note that palms are being used between the tiny lots. The sheer amount of denuded land is incredible: silting and sedimentation are ground one for reef destruction, and the photos coming in are revealing an entire island side that has been stripped of vegetation.
Bakers Bay Club Golf Course
The main environmental concerns for the golf course are stressors to coral reefs and other elements of the marine environment adjacent to the project from (1) sedimentation from construction activities during the major reworking of the landscape required to construct the golf course, and (2) runoff of pollutants into the groundwater or the adjacent sea water areas on either side of the golf course during the initial seeding of the golf course and the subsequent maintenance of the golf course if it is completed. These pollutants include fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides, and nutrients from waste water treated to “irrigation” standards. The Bakers Bay Club development highlights its championship quality “Tom Fazio” brand name golf course, so one would presume that a high priority would be placed on keeping the grass on that course very green and free from weeds.
Page 90 0f the EIA acknowledges these concerns as follows:
“The location of golf courses near the coastline causes concern about nonpoint source (NPS) pollution effects on the water quality of surrounding marine and wetland environments. Of particular interest is the impact of herbicides, fungicides and fertilizers on groundwater quality. Golf courses are intensive production systems, and the frequent mowing and application of fertilizers or pesticides requires careful management to avoid damage to the surrounding environment. Nitrogen, phosphorus and many pesticides are potential pollutants of groundwater, and monitoring of their movement from turf grass areas to receiving waters is needed.”
The developer’s Frequently Asked Questions document states the following regarding the golf course concerns:
“The course will be grassed with Seashore Paspalum, a grass variety requiring little or no fertilizer and more tolerant to brackish and re-use water. The design intent is to limit the amount of irrigated turfgrass in favor of non-irrigated native plants. Further, the golf course grading plans are designed to slope into the island’s interior into lined man-made wetlands, which act as a natural water filtration system. The drainage water is then re-circulated into the irrigation system, as opposed to running off into the ocean. A secondary safeguard is an area of native vegetation between the golf course and the ocean.”
The developer has stressed the planned use of paspalum grass to minimize the need for fertilizers.Our friends at the Winding Bay golf course on mainland Abaco also reports that the salinity of the water used on that golf course minimizes or eliminates the need for herbicides. Although the developer speaks of minimal amounts of fertilizers, and pesticides, no scientist or conservationist has been able to obtain estimates from the developer of the actual amounts planned for use even during the construction phase of the project.
Nutrients, especially nitrogen, reaching coral reefs have the potential to increase the growth of algae, which in turn can smother live coral. The fertilizers used on golf courses contain nitrogen and phosphorous, among other chemicals. Waste water treated to “irrigation” standards also contains nitrogen. So, while it may be true that “minimal” amounts of chemical fertilizers might be applied, the waste water used for irrigation is another form of fertilizer.
The developer states that Seashore Paspalum requires “little or no fertilizer.” The EIA does not contain any quantitative statement as to the amount of fertilizer they plan to use. We have been unable so far to obtain such estimates from other sources. According to an article published by the University of Florida, however, Seashore Paspalum is described as having “minimal fertility requirements,” and “excellent tolerance to saline or recycled water,” as well as “good insect and disease resistance.” So, we would agree that this appears to be a good choice of grass for the golf course. We are left with the question, however, as to what “minimal” amounts of fertilizers really means, and how much of a threat they pose to the marine environment, coral reefs especially, given the close proximity of the golf course to the reefs.
NUTRIENTS FROM WASTE WATER IRRIGATION
The use of waste water for irrigating the golf course is a key element of the developer’s proposal. The waste water would be treated to “irrigation” standards, which the chart on Page 65 of the EIA describes as “nutrient rich water for irrigation.” Although in many places the EIA mentions the need for detailed water quality monitoring, no parameters are provided regarding the expected water quality, nitrogen content in particular, of the waste water effluent to be applied to the golf course.
PESTICIDES (INCLUDING FUNGICIDES) AND HERBICIDES
The following statement EIA on Page 137 acknowledges that pesticides can impact coral reefs:
“Therefore, coral colonies may be particularly susceptible to pesticides (Rawlins BG et al. 1998) and heavy metals (Morgan MB et al. 2001). Chemical pollutants may have negative impacts at the population level since coral reproduction and recruitment are chemically mediated processes sensitive to coastal pollution and changes in water quality (Richmond RH 1993).”
The EIA mentions the use of pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers on Page 99, along with recommendations for their use and encouragement of minimal usage. As noted previously, the statements are recommendations of actions that should be taken, but there are no listings of the expected types and quantities of the chemicals that will be applied.
“5. Advanced technology/monitoring equipment should be used to insure minimal application of pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers.
6. Use of the slow-release, less soluble, and least mobile chemical fertilizers, pesticides, and herbicides available is encouraged. These products should be used at the smallest rates of active ingredient to accomplish the desired result.”
The golf course will be primarily irrigated with water from a reverse osmosis desalinization plant. The EIA on page 65 indicates that effluent from the plant would be at 10 parts per thousand saline content. This may act to reduce the need for pesticides and herbicides, as has been the experience cited for Winding Bay, but the EIA provides no quantitative basis for that assumption.
In his study Dr. Risk noted that:
“It is, however, impossible to grow grass without water, and impossible to grow golf course grass without fertilizer. No matter how well the use of these two is monitored, some will inevitably escape to the sea. The use of organic fertilizers will delay but not halt the nutrient release.”
He reached the overall conclusion that:
“Because of the extraordinarily high porosity and permeability of the carbonate sands on the island, any runoff from the golf course will be transmitted rapidly down the length of the island. At the site of the proposed golf course, there are excellent reefs a few 10's of metres from the shore-this is a situation not found in many areas. Nutrient effects on reefs have been traced for more than 15 km. Runoff from the golf course will likely be a death sentence to the adjacent reefs, and a threat to reefs the length of the Cay”.
Bakers Bay Club Marina: SEDIMENTATION FROM CONSTRUCTION PHASE AND POST-CONSTRUCTION MAINTENANCE DREDGING
Dredging would take place during the construction of the marina, posing hazards to the coral reefs and bonefish flats due to siltation. If the marina is constructed, the “second channel” will also require periodic dredging, with attendant risks to the reefs
IMPACTS FROM OCCUPANTS OF MARINA AND ASSOCIATED MARINA OPERATIONS
Whether or not the Bakers Bay Club marina would ever be occupied at the ambitious levels of the current plan, there will be numerous threats to the marine environment from any yachts berthed in the marina, from the occupants of the vessels, and from the operations of the marina. Pollutants from the vessels include toxic chemicals used as anti-fouling paint, as well as the more obvious sources of pollutants from fuels, lubricants, materials washed from the decks, and various items of trash.
Here are some observations regarding the Environmental Management Plan as described in the EIA.
- There is no public monitoring phase of the EMP being implemented as described in the EIA. The Great Guana Cay Foundation website supposedly established to provide “transparent” reporting, but there is no pre-construction data relating to coral reefs, fish, and related marine species.
Regarding the REA for the marine environment, including the coral reefs, Dr. Risk commented:
- “The EIA is strangely lacking in detail on the marine environment. There are species lists of the fish seen during surveys conducted using the Roving Diver Technique, RDT (www.reef.org), and a species list of corals. I was provided with no information as to sites, site selection, methods for coral ID.”
- “There are plans in the EIA for progressive monitoring of groundwater (this section of the EIA is quite good), and the innovative use of on-site web-cams. There seems to be no process-response model, no system of checks and balances via which construction may be halted should part of the system break down. In fact, there is a statement in the EIA to the effect that the worst environmental damage would be done if this project were not completed. This seems like a veiled threat, and carries the implication that, once begun, the process cannot be stopped. Given this situation, it is absolutely essential that research-grade baseline monitoring of the reef resources be undertaken, before the project commences.”
No research-grade baseline assessment or monitoring of the reef resources has been performed under the auspices of the EMP as of now.
The International Year of the Reef website summarizes marinas and reefs this way; "Sensitive habitats can be destroyed or disturbed by dredging activities to make deep-water channels or marinas, and through the dumping of waste materials. Where land development alters the natural flow of water, greater amounts of fresh water, nutrients and sediment can reach the reefs causing further degradation. Within the last 20 years, once prolific mangrove forests, which absorb massive amounts of nutrients and sediment from runoff caused by farming and construction, have been destroyed. Nutrient-rich water causes fleshy algae and phytoplankton to thrive in coastal areas in suffocating amounts known as algal blooms. Coral reefs are biological assemblages adapted to waters with low nutrient content, and the addition of nutrients favours species that disrupt the balance of the reef communities."
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Travel + Leisure Golf just announced it will be folding. This news comes amid a series of critically bad news for golf destination developments around the world.
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