What’s New in the Campaign to Save Coral Bay

This page will be updated with the major events in the campaign to Save Coral Bay. Events involving both the Summer’s End Group project (SEG) and the Sirius project (T-Rex) are reported here. Please check back regularly to keep yourself informed on our campaign.

Sept 13, 2021 – (SEG) Army Corps Issues Extensive List of Permit Application Deficiencies
The United States Army Corps of Engineers has transmitted a 20-page letter to Chaliese Summers identifying an extensive list of major errors, omissions and deficiencies in the Summers End Group application for an Army Corps permit. Many of these issues were the same problems identified in 2015 after the initial comprehensive Army Corps review, and they still have not been addressed by SEG. Additionally, there is now a formal review being initiated under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (“NHPA”) due to the discovery of an early 18th century shipwreck within the footprint of the marina.

Army Corps Deficiency Notification Letter

May 22, 2021 – (SEG) Save Coral Bay Files Appeal in Virgin Islands Supreme Court
The dismissal of Save Coral Bay’s lawsuit against Governor Bryan and SEG in VI Superior Court was based on an incorrect interpretation of certain portions of the CZM law. Additionally, the Judge failed to recognize that the Legislature cannot ratify a document if it has not been legally created. These are the main issues being brought to the Virgin Islands Supreme Court in the appeal filed by Save Coral Bay – can the Governor unilaterally modify a CZM permit which has not been fully approved, and can the Legislature ratify a permit which has not been legally created. Stay tuned …

Documents Filed in Save Coral Bay Case in VI Supreme Court

May 12, 2021 – (SEG) Superior Court Judge Carty Dismisses Save Coral Bay Lawsuit
In a surprise ruling, Superior Court Judge Renee Carty sided with the defendants and dismissed the lawsuit filed by Save Coral Bay. Attorney Andrew Simpson, representing Save Coral Bay, believes the court made serious errors in interpretation of the CZM statutes and will be filing an appeal of the Superior Court order in Virgin Islands Supreme Court.

March 30, 2021 – (SEG) Local Family Files Lawsuit Against Summers End Group
Members of the Clendinen family, a native St Johnian family with multi-generational roots in Coral Bay, have filed a lawsuit naming Attorney Brion Morrisette and Chaliese Summers as defendants. The lawsuit alleges a multi-year history of bad faith, broken promises, misrepresentations, and economic harm done by the defendants to two elderly Clendinen matriarchs and their adult children.

Clendinen Lawsuit Filings in VI Superior Court

January 4, 2021 – (SEG) Board of Land Use Appeals Dismisses Second BLUA Appeal
As anticipated, the Board of Land Use Appeals (“BLUA”) has dismissed the appeal by the Virgin Islands Consercation Society filed in January 2020. The ratification of the CZM permit by the Legislature has now made this a matter for the VI Courts to decide, and it is no longer in the jurisdiction of BLUA.

December 12, 2020 – (SEG) Virgin Islands Legislature Ratifies CZM Permit for Summers End Group
The “Unconscionable Seven” – what a disappointment …

Daily News Op-Ed: An Unconscionable Act by Seven VI Senators

July 21, 2020 – (SEG) Save Coral Bay Files Lawsuit Against Governor Bryan and Summers End Group in Virgin Islands Superior Court
Following the July 7 Committee of the Whole it became blindingly apparent that Senate President Novelle Francis is unconcerned about the unorthodox and probably illegal manner in which Governor Bryan modified the Summers End Group CZM Permits. Although a BLUA appeal had been filed, it now appears certain that the actions of the Governor will need to be appealed directly in Superior Court. Save Coral Bay has now filed an appeal contesting the legality of the consolidation, modification of the CZM permits, naming Governor Albert Bryan Jr. and the Summers End Group as defendants.

Save Coral Bay v. Governor Albert Bryan Jr. and Summers End Group

July 7, 2020 – (SEG) Legislature Meets in Committee of the Whole to Receive Testimony on Consolidated and Modified CZM Permit for Summers End Group
Senate President Novelle Francis convened the Legislature in Committee of the Whole to review the “consolidated and modified” CZM Permit forwarded by Governor Albert Bryan for the Summers End Group. The meeting was organized to give SEG essentially unlimited speaking time, whereas those people opposing the project were severely limited in their testimony. It appeared as though this was not organized as a meeting to get to the facts and the truth, but as a meeting to simply execute the required procedural steps towards ratification.

Written Testimony for July 7, 2020 Committee of the Whole

March 26, 2020 – (SEG) Army Corps Requests Additional Information
In a March 26, 2020 letter to Chaliese Summers, the new Army Corps Project Manager for the Summers End Group, Ms. Kelly Egan, has requested extensive additional information in order to continue the processing of the SEG Army Corps permit application. The letter states that the application is incomplete and that SEG has 30 days to respond.

March 26, 2020, Request for Additional Information from Army Corps

March 24, 2020 – (SEG) Save Coral Bay Comments to Army Corps on Technical Studies
After reviewing the technical studies submitted by Summers End Group in December 2019, we have found multiple serious defects in the information provided to the Corps. The cover letter from Attorney Robb Fox states “Based on the extensive review performed by my clients, together with their review of relevant scientific literature and consultation with subject-matter experts, my clients have found that the SEG response is inaccurate, legally deficient, and misstates the impacts of the Proposed Project on protected marine resources.“

Save Coral Bay Review and Response to Summers End Group Technical Documents

January 30, 2020 – (SEG) Virgin Islands Conservation Society Files Emergency BLUA Appeal Against Illegally Modified CZM Permits
After multiple attempts over several weeks to obtain copies of the permits modified by Governor Bryan, we were finally received the correspondence through staff at the Legislature. To put it mildly, the actions of the Governor, in laison with Chaliese Summers and complicity of DPNR, were shocking. The only recourse was to file an emergency BLUA appeal before the statutory deadline expired. With only one day remaining on the clock, the Virgin Islands Conservation Society filed a BLUA appeal contesting the actions of the Governor, DPNR, and the St John CZM Committee. Given the extraordinary nature of the Governor’s actions, it is quite possible that DPNR will deny the appeal, however this is a necessary step before further court action. As the opening paragraph of the appeal states: “Summers End Group has refused from Day One to submit a CZM application that complies with Virgin Islands law. It’s latest effort—the subject of this appeal—is just another attempt to take a shortcut around the CZM process. “Like most shortcuts, it was an ill-chosen route” Washington Irving, The Devil and Tom Walker.”

Legal Documents in Emergency BLUA Appeal

December 18, 2019 – (SEG) Governor Bryan Unilaterally Modifies CZM Permits for Summers End Group and Requests Senate Ratification
In a totally unprecedented and potentially illegal maneuver, the Governor has consolidated and modified the CZM permits for the Summers End Group without any involvement of DPNR or the St John CZM Committee. This was done by the Governor at the express request of Chaliese Summers, and it was done in secret behind closed doors. The modified documents were sent to Senate President Francis for ratification without any public notice. After repeated requests to the Governor’s office, all of which were denied, I was finally able to obtain copies of the modified permit documents in mid-January. The entire set of permit modification documents may be found at the link below.

Governor Bryan’s Modification of SEG CZM Permits

December 13, 2019 – (SEG) Summers End Submits Documents in Response to Agency Information Requests from Oct 2018
The Summers End Group submitted multiple new documents to the Army Corps on Dec 13, 2019, more than a year after this information was requested by the NOAA Habitat Conservation Division and the NOAA Protected Resources Division. These documents will now be reviewed by the Army Corps to determine whether they have fully responded to those information requests.

December 2019 Summers End Document Submission to Army Corps

December 10, 2019 – (SEG) Senate President Novelle Francis Returns CZM Permit to Governor Bryan
In a strongly worded letter, Senate President Francis returned the CZM Major Water permit for the Summers End Group to Governor Albert Bryan Jr. and stated that the permit should not come back to the Legislature for ratification until all of the deficiencies noted in the letter have been addressed. The letter concludes with this statement: “In short, the project as currently proposed by Summer’s End Group. LLC cannot be developed under the Major Coastal Zone Management Permit No. CZJ-04-14 (W) and its accompanying plans, maps and drawings. It is the consensus of the Legislature that the marina project proposed by Summer’s End Group, LLC has not been yet submitted for CZM review, thereby rendering this permit and all related processes invalid.
When a new, valid, consolidated Land and water permit for the marina project is transmitted for the Legislature’s ratification, I assure you that the Thirty-Third Legislature will act promptly.

Senate President Francis Returns CZM Water Permit to Governor Bryan

October 26, 2019 – (SEG) Legislature Meets in Committee of the Whole to Receive Testimony on Summers End Group Major CZM Water Permit
The Committee of the Whole met in an all-day session to receive extensive testimony on the CZM Major Water Permit issued to the Summers End Group. In spite of the fact that the Board of Land Use Appeals required that the separate water permit and land permit be consolidated, and in spite of many errors in the standalone water permit, SEG is pushing forward for Legislative ratification now that they’ve secured the signature of Governor Bryan. By the end of the all-day meeting it was clear that the many errors in deficiencies in the permit would be a stumbling block to the Legislature’s approval, even though many Senators expressed support for the project. A few days following the committee meeting Senate President Francis issued a statement, including the following comment: “In the end of it it’s obvious that we will have to make a decision at some point, but because of the fact that the proposal is flawed, at this time, more than likely it will be sent back to the governor’s office or if in fact we take a vote on it, we will have to object based on the fact that it’s flawed at this time. It cannot be ratified with the level of errors that’s contained in the measure.”

October 2019 Committee of the Whole All Written Testimony

April 4, 2019 – (SEG) Governor Albert Bryan Secretly Signs Summers End Group CZM Permit
In a surprise move Governor Bryan signed the CZM Major Water permit for the Summers End Group, without any public notice, public announcement, or opportunity for public comment. To make matters worse, the permit signed by Governor Bryan was not the same permit that was approved by the St John CZM Committee in 2014, and it was not a Consolidated Land and Water Permit as required by the Board of Land Use Appeals. Apparently a new permit was printed, signed by the Chairman of the St John CZM Committee without any notice, discussion or approval of the committee, and then countersigned by Chaliese Summers and Governor Bryan.

Newly Elected Governor Bryan Signs CZM Water Permit for SEG

March 14, 2019 – (SEG) Army Corps Status: Waiting for Summers End Responses to NOAA
As of March 14, 2019, the Army Corps of Engineers has not received any response from the Summer’s End Group to the additional information requested by NOAA Habitat Conservation Division (HCD) and NOAA Protected Resources Division (PRD) in October 2018. NOAA HCD is reviewing the SEG project for impacts to Essential Fish Habitat, including sea grasses. This is required under the Magnuson-Stevens Fisheries Conservation and Management Act. NOAA PRD is reviewing the project for impacts to threatened and endangered species under Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act.

Albert Bryan Jr. Elected 9th Governor of the US Virgin Islands – Tregenza Roach to be Lieutenant Governor
After running a campaign based on the slogan “Change Course Now” Albert Bryan Jr. defeated incumbent Kenneth Mapp to become the 9th elected Governor of the United States Virgin Islands. Governor-elect Bryan has publicly stated that he supports environmental protection, and Tregenza Roach has always been a good friend of St John. We will see in 2019 how their administration deals with the Coral Bay marina projects.

September/October 2018 – (SEG) Federal Agencies Request Additional Information from Summers End Group
The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) Protected Resources Division (PRD) and NMFS Habitat Conservation Division (HCD) have both requested additional information from SEG in order to initiate their formal consultations under federal statutes. These two agencies, both within NOAA, are responsible for reviewing impacts to endangered and protected species, including sea turtles, as well as for reviewing impacts to Essential Fish Habitat (EFH).The letters received via the Freedom of Information Act had the actual information requests redacted since they were initiated by a different agency than the Army Corps. We have requested the redacted content and will post it as soon as it is available.

Notification of Additional Agency Information Requests

July 10-12, 2018 – (SEG) Army Corps Initiates Consultation with Federal Agencies
On July 10, 2018 and July 12, 2018, the US Army Corps of Engineers initiated formal consultation with two federal agencies: the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) Protected Resources Division and the NMFS Habitat Conservation Division. These agencies are responsible for assessing impacts of Army Corps permit requests on marine endangered species and on Essential Fish Habitat.The consultation requests included extensive supporting materials. In fact, it appears that the entire administrative record – all public comments, letters, formal submissions, expert reports, agency comments – were included in the documentation sent to the agencies. The cover letters provide a guide into the attached documentation. The cover letters specifically identify some areas where the applicant’s estimates of impacts differ from other experts, and request the agencies to make determinations of impacts according to their relevant rules and regulations.

NMFS Protected Resources Division Consultation Request

NMFS Habitat Conservation Division Consultation Request

May 16, 2018 – (SEG) “What is really going on with the Summer’s End Group?”
With the worst of the hurricane impacts behind us, it was finally possible to accumulate the information regarding the status of the Summer’s End Group project. Long delays due to communications outages and lack of telephone service have slowed down the flow of information, and this was an opportunity to update the public on what had been happening in the Army Corps permitting process during the previous nine months.The op-ed, entitled “What is really going on with the Summer’s End Group?” was published in the Virgin Islands Daily News on May 16, 2018. It is reproduced in its entirety on the link below.

Op-Ed: What is really going on with SEG?

April 11, 2018 – (SEG) Coral Bay Property Owner Sues Summers End Group
The owners of the “Coccoloba Plaza” – one of the parcels which the Summer’s End Group had planned to utilize in their marina project – have sued SEG seeking a declaratory judgment to “quiet” their title and alleging “title slander” by SEG.This lawsuit apparently stems from a document that SEG filed in the USVI Deed Recorder’s office claiming that they executed a contract to purchase the property in 2013. The owners of the property are now, apparently, contesting the validity of that filing. We have obtained a copy of the “Memorandum of Contract for Purchase” and the docket for the lawsuit filed in April 2018. All of the documents may be found on the page referenced in the link below.

Lawsuit – Coccoloba Plaza

May 4, 2018 – (SEG) CBCC and Save Coral Bay Submit Analysis of SEG Responses
After reviewing the Summers End Group responses to the Army Corps from August 2017, December 2017 and March 2018, we have filed comments on errors and omissions in these SEG responses. The documents filed by CBCC and Save Coral Bay may be found on the page referenced below.

Save Coral Bay Comments on SEG Responses

March 2018 – (SEG) Summer’s End Group Submits Responses to Army Corps
A final set of responsive documents were submitted by SEG to the Army Corps in February/March 2018. These documents may be found on the page below.

SEG Feb 2018 Responses

January 2018 – (SEG) Army Corps Sends Third Request for Additional Information and Preliminary Determination
On January 26, 2018, the Army Corps send a THIRD request for additional information to the Summer’s End Group. In this letter the Army Corps also communicated their preliminary staff findings regarding the SEG permit application. The letter included the following language:”Please be advised that based on current site conditions and the most recent information you have provided, my staff has preliminarily determined that your proposal may be contrary to the Public Interest. Pursuant to Corps Regulations at 33 CFR 320.4(a)(1) your permit application would be denied if ultimately found to be contrary to the Public Interest. Please be advised that this is not our final determination concerning compliance with the Public Interest, or notice of intent thereof. This letter does, however, represent the preliminary staff review of the proposed work and/or structures. We are providing this information at the present stage of the process to allow you the opportunity to modify your project plan to reflect an alternative that would have less impact on the aquatic resources, fully assess the further commitment of resources for design dependent on permit issuance, and add to our record whatever additional information you feel is relevant to our review process.”The full text of the Army Corps letter to SEG may be found on the page referenced below (the “Third Comments for Rebuttal” letter on that page).

Army Corps Third Comments and Preliminary Determination

December 2017 – (SEG) Summer’s End Group Submits Additional Responses to Army Corps
SEG has submitted additional documents purporting to respond to the Army Corps letter of deficiencies from October 2017. The full set of documents may be seen on the page linked below.

SEG December 2017 Responses

October 2017 – (SEG) Army Corps Sends Second Request for Additional Information to SEG
Following review of SEG’s response submission, the Army Corps issued a second request for additional information. This letter from USACE to SEG may be found on the page below (the “Second Comments for Rebuttal” letter on the page.

Army Corps Second Comments Letter

September 6, 2017 – HURRICANE IRMA
Coral Bay, and the entire island of St John, has been devastated in a direct hit from the strongest hurricane in Atlantic history. Winds of over 200 mph have wracked destruction across the entire island.The photograph below is the remaining rubble of a structure that was located in the precise location of the main pier of the SEG marina. No words can describe the devastation.

August 2017 – (SEG) Summer’s End Group Submits Responses to Army Corps
SEG has submitted documents purporting to respond to the Army Corps letter of deficiencies from October 22, 2015. These documents were sent two weeks before St John was devastated by Hurricane Irma. The full set of documents may be seen on the page linked below.

SEG August 2017 Responses

February 1, 2017 – (SEG) Public Letter to USACE Requesting Permit Denial
A public letter, signed by 1,835 individuals, has been sent to the Army Corps requesting that they deny the permit requested by the Summer’s End Group due to SEG’s failure to respond to the information requested by the Corps. It has been 15 months since the Corps provided 12 months for response to additional information requests and SEG has not submitted any response in this period.

Public Letter to USACE re SEG Permit Denial

January 20, 2017 – (T-Rex) Coral Bay Ball Field Rezoning Approved
The Legislature and the Governor approved the rezoning of the Coral Bay ball field from its current zoning designation to a “W-1 (Waterfront Pleasure)” zone. This will allow the Sirius Resort and Marina to apply for Coastal Zone Management (CZM) permits. However there are a huge number of issues that will need to be considered before any permit is granted for this project.Since T-Rex decided to apply for an Army Corps permit prior to applying for a CZM permit, all of the comments from the public and federal agencies which were generated during the Army Corps public comment period can now be submitted to CZM if and when they get to a complete CZM application. This will be a very significant obstacle for T-Rex to move ahead with their current plans for dredging, filling open water, and taking over the ball field for an 89-room hotel. We believe that a much smaller version of the T-Rex (Sirius) plan might be supported by the community, but not what is currently being proposed.

Aug/Sept/Oct 2016 – (SEG) Briefs / Replies in Writ of Review Lawsuit
During the months of August, September and October 2016 several briefs were filed by the parties to the Superior Court Writ of Review lawsuit, challenging the CZM and BLUA decisions in the SEG CZM permit decisions. Briefs were filed by the Virgin Islands Conservation Society (in conjunction with Save Coral Bay), the Moravian Conference (in conjunction with T-Rex), the Department of Planning and Natural Resources (DPNR, representing CZM and BLUA), and SEG as an intervenor in the lawsuit. These filings are all linked below:

September 13, 2016 – (T-Rex) Army Corps Withdraws Application from Processing
Following the T-Rex request for additional time to answer the second Army Corps information request, the Corps has notified T-Rex that their application is being withdrawn from processing, and will remain on file for one year. The Corps said “Please be advised that by action of this communication your application is being withdrawn from processing. The application will remain in abeyance pending receipt of the information requested on August 31, 2016.“

USACE Withdraws Application from Processing

September 9, 2016 – (T-Rex) T-Rex Requests 90 Days Additional Time
T-Rex has written to the Army Corps and requested 90 days (from the August 31 2016 date) to respond to the “extensive information being requested” by the Corps.

T-Rex Requests 90 Day Response Extension

August 31, 2016 – (T-Rex) Army Corps Second Request for Additional Information
The Army Corps has notified T-Rex that their initial response was inadequate and incomplete. The Corps states: “Please be advised that your response did not adequately address all the issues and information requests detailed in our letter.” The Corps, in this letter, provides detailed feedback, including many of the comments submitted by Save Coral Bay, and they have notified T-Rex that these comments must be addressed in order for the permit application to be processed.

Army Corps Second Information Request to T-Rex

August 8, 2016 – (T-Rex) Save Coral Bay Comments on T-Rex Response
After reviewing the response from T-Rex to the Army Corps, we felt it was necessary to provided detailed review of the T-Rex response, as well as comments on new and changed information supplied by T-Rex. Overall, we felt that the T-Rex response was significantly inadequate and/or non-responsive to most of the issues identified by the Corps in their first information request. The entire Save Coral Bay response is provided in the link below.

Save Coral Bay Review of T-Rex USACE Response

July 2016 – (SEG) Petition for Writ of Review Filed in VI Superior Court
Now that the Board of Land Use Appeals has completed its hearing, the opponents to the Summer’s End Group are able to file lawsuits in VI Superior Court. Both the Virgin Islands Conservation Society (VICS,in partnership with Save Coral Bay) and the Moravian Conference (in partnership with T-Rex) have petitioned the Superior Court to review the actions of the St John CZM Committee and the Board of Land Use Appeals. This Writ of Review is the next phase of the opposition to the CZM decision approving permits for SEG in October 2014.

VICS Petition for Writ of Review

Moravian Conference Petition for Writ of Review

July 11, 2016 – (T-Rex) T-Rex Response to USACE Information Request
T-Rex has responded to the March 2016 additional information request from the Army Corps. Based on our initial review it appears as though T-Rex has reduced the amount of dredging somewhat, but not eliminated it. They have made some other minor changes to the marina design. Overall it appears as though the majority of the issues and concerns identified by the Corps have not been addressed by T-Rex. Save Coral Bay is planning to offer a detailed review of the T-Rex response to the Army Corps.

T-Rex Response to USACE Information Request

T-Rex Response to EPA Letter

July 11, 2016 – (T-Rex) T-Rex Response to USACE Information Request
T-Rex has responded to the March 2016 additional information request from the Army Corps. Based on our initial review it appears as though T-Rex has reduced the amount of dredging somewhat, but not eliminated it. They have made some other minor changes to the marina design. Overall it appears as though the majority of the issues and concerns identified by the Corps have not been addressed by T-Rex. Save Coral Bay is planning to offer a detailed review of the T-Rex response to the Army Corps.

T-Rex Response to USACE Information Request

T-Rex Response to EPA Letter

June 2016 – (SEG) BLUA Issues Written Decision in SEG CZM Appeals
The Board of Land Use Appeals (BLUA) has issued its written decision (see link below). BLUA affirmed the CZM decisions however they concluded that CZM erred by considering the Land Permit and Water Permit independent of one another. They ordered that the two permits be consolidated due to the fact that they are two parts of the same project.We agree that the two permits should have been consolidated from the outset and we believe that CZM made serious errors in not requiring this, as well as other errors in their process and conclusions. The effect of the BLUA order to consolidate the permits is that Summers End Group cannot begin any construction on their project – land or water – until they receive final Army Corps approval. We are most likely going to appeal the BLUA decision due, in part, to ambiguities in their conclusions.The written BLUA decision may be found on the link below:

BLUA Written Decision (SEG CZM Permits)

May 2016 – (SEG) Two Key Land Parcels Sold – Not to Summer’s End Group
The bank which owned two of the central parcels of the Summer’s End Group project has sold these parcels to a third party with no connection to Summer’s End. These parcels are the “Voyages Building” and the empty lot behind it. Summer’s End had proposed to make this building the centerpiece of their marina project. As a consequence of the sale, SEG has had to notify the Army Corps and CZM, in writing, that they no longer have access to these parcels and they are not part of the SEG project.The letter from SEG to the Army Corps stated: “I just wanted to confirm with you that we will be modifying our upland plans to remove parcels 13 A and 13 B Estate Carolina from the project.“

April 5, 2016 – (SEG) Board of Land Use Appeal Hearing on CZM Permits
The Board of Land Use Appeals hearing on the appeals filed by the Moravian Conference and by the Virgin Islands Conservation Society were heard on April 5, 2016. A number of last-minute motions were filed by various parties in the days prior to the hearing. We are waiting for the written decision from the hearing.

March 23, 2016 – (T-Rex) T-Rex Requests Additional Time to Respond to USACE
T-Rex has requested a 60 day extension to the 30 days provided by the Army Corps for a response to the information request.

T-Rex Request for Additional Time

March 8, 2016 – (T-Rex) Army Corps Requests Extensive Additional Information from T-Rex
Following review of the public comments, federal agency comments, CBCC and Save Coral Bay comments, the Army Corps has provided T-Rex with an extensive list of issues and concerns which must be addressed. Their notice to T-Rex is linked below.

USACE Request for Additional Information from T-Rex

January 25, 2016 – (T-Rex) Public Comment Period for Sirius Marina Closes
The Public Comment period for the Sirius Marina resulted in extensive feedback from federal agencies, the general public, the Coral Bay Community Council, and Save Coral Bay. There were over 8,000 letters in opposition, a petition with over 4,300 signatures, and detailed comments from agencies. These materials may all be found at the link below.

Save Coral Bay Comments on Sirius Resort and Marina

December 10, 2015 – (T-Rex) US Army Corps of Engineers Public Notice for Second Coral Bay Marina
The Army Corps has published a Public Notice for the “Sirius Marina” located at the northern end of Coral Bay Harbor, on land leased from the Moravian Conference. The comment period will run until January 25, 2016.

Army Corps Public Notice for Sirius Marina (Moravian Church Property)

November 2, 2015 – (SEG) US Army Corps of Engineers Stops Processing Summers End Group Application
Following a request by Summer’s End for an extended time period to respond to the Oct 22 USACE information request, the Corps responded by placing the entire application on hold. The Army Corps said “We acknowledge receipt of your letter dated November 2, 2015, soliciting an extension of time to respond to our request for information dated October 22, 2015, regarding the above referenced permit application.
Please be advised that by action of this letter your application is being withdrawn from processing. The application will remain in abeyance pending receipt of the information requested on October 22, 2015.”

USACE Places Summer’s End Group Application in Abeyance

October 22, 2015 – (SEG) US Army Corps of Engineers Sends Extensive Information Request to Summers End Group
The Army Corps of Engineers sent a comprehensive information request to the Summer’s End Group requiring response to all of the issues raised by the federal agencies, the Save Coral Bay group, the public comments, and the comments of the Coral Bay Community Council. The developer was given 30 days to respond to the information request and told that the permit could be denied if they do not respond.

USACE Information Request to the Summer’s End Group

October 3, 2015 – (SEG/T-Rex) US Army Corps of Engineers Visits Coral Bay and Meets With Save Coral Bay Group
A contingent from the Army Corps visited St John for a site visit to the proposed marina location. They spent several hours with the Save Coral Bay group, the Coral Bay Community Council and the Coral Bay Yacht Club. The Corps listened to the main concerns of the community, was taken on a walking tour of the site, and a boat tour of the harbor. The day before visiting Coral Bay the Corps was escorted by the National Park Service on a visit to Hurricane Hole and a other natural and historic sites on St John.

Presentation to USACE by Save Coral Bay

August 24, 2015 – (SEG) Second Army Corps Public Comment Period Ends
The public response to the second Army Corps comment period has been phenomenal. In total, counting the letters of the first round, over 20,000 individuals have sent letters to the Corps objecting to the marina. A petition with over 8,000 signatures was included in this round of comments. The CBCC and SCB have updated their formal comments with extensive new analysis. This has been a monumental effort involving thousands of individuals, countless hours of pro bono legal assistance, and coordination by Save Coral Bay with assistance from the Coral Bay Community Council. The entire submission is too extensive to post, but the cover letter from the legal team summarizes the reasons the Army Corps should deny the permit requested by Summer’s End. It can be found here:

Legal Cover Letter to the Army Corps

July 9, 2015 – (SEG) Second Army Corps Public Notice – New Comment Period Announced
When US FWS withdrew the grant from SEG, they ceased being the lead agency for the Army Corps permit environmental review. As a result, the Army Corps published a new “Public Notice” and requested that the public resubmit ALL comment letters that had been previously submitted. The only change in the project description was removal of the 75 position public mooring field. The marina and upland project were identical to the prior Public Notice. More information about the new comment period may be found here:

New Army Corps Comment Period

March 17, 2015 – (SEG) US Fish and Wildlife Service Rescinds Summer’s End Group Grant
On March 17, 2015, the US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) withdrew the Boating Infrastructure Grant (BIG) previously awarded to the Summers End Group citing “the formal comments from internal and external federal agencies, other environmental interests, and the general public.” This is a major setback for the Summer’s End Group, who had hoped to receive up to $1.3 million in grant money. However the terms of the grant stated that a project is ineligible if it causes significant environmental damage, and the Summer’s End project clearly is ineligible on those grounds.

US FWS Letter Rescinding Summers End Group Grant

March 5, 2015 – (SEG) US Army Corps of Engineers Comment Period Ends
The extended comment period for the US Army Corps of Engineers closed today, with an overwhelming response from the public. Over 13,000 letters, five expert reports, thousands of pages of comment, legal analysis, over 5000 signatures on a petition – all opposing the Summers End Group marina in Coral Bay harbor. For an overview of the public response during the comment period click the link below:

Extensive Public Response to Army Corps Comment Period

January 7, 2015 – (SEG) US Army Corps of Engineers Public Notice
Today the United States Army Corps of Engineers published the Public Notice announcing the start of the public comment period for the Summers End Group marina application. The original notice was for a 25 day comment period, which has subsequently been extended twice. The comment period is now set to expire on March 5, 2015. Public comments have been extensive – over 1000 individual letters and 12,000 letters submitted through the National Parks Conservation Association. The full text of our press release on the public comments may be found here:

The Public Speaks and Leaves No Doubt: Summers End is Wrong Marina for Coral Bay

December 16, 2014 – (SEG) VI Legislature to Delay Permit Hearings Until 31st Legislature
Today Senator Janette Millin Young, Chairwoman of the Committee for Economic Development, Agriculture and Planning, announced that the Summers End Group trust lands permit would NOT be on the agenda of the final committee meeting of the 30th Legislature, and that the project would not be considered until after the 31st Legislature convenes in 2015.Senator Millin Young said: “Tomorrow, the committee I chair, the Committee on Economic Development, Agriculture and Planning, will vet several requests for major and minor coastal zone permits. Absent from the agenda will be the planned Summers End Marina on St. John and the proposed Mandahl Bay hotel development on St. Thomas. Beginning next month, the committee will schedule site visits and meet with the proponents and opponents of these measures and fairly consider them.”Senator Millin Young’s office staff and several other Senators have confirmed in conversations with me that the issues brought to light in the legal appeals of the SEG permit, the advice of legal counsel not to process permits while appeals are pending, and the strong public sentiment and controversy surrounding the SEG project were all factors in the decision to hold off processing the permit. The full text of Senator Millin Young’s comments may be found here:

Senator Millin Young Delays SEG Permit Hearing to Allow Full Review

November 24, 2014 – (SEG) Coral Bay Moravian Church Appeals Summers End Group Permits
The Emmaus Moravian church, one of the oldest institutions in Coral Bay, has filed an appeal of the CZM permits granted to the Summers End Group. Their appeal, which was prepared completely independently from the appeal of the Virgin Islands Conservation Society, points to numerous defects in the application by the Summers End Group. The Moravian church is particularly concerned about the excessive size of the SEG marina, and the apparent lack of financial support for the SEG development. The entire Moravian church appeal may be found here:

Moravian Church Appeal of CZM Permits – 24 Nov 2014

November 19, 2014 – (SEG) Letter of Support from Friends of the Park
We are thrilled that the Friends of the Virgin Islands National Park has sent an email to their 15,000 members announcing support for the Save Coral Bay movement and encouraging engagement with us and with the Coral Bay Community Council. Click on the link below for the full text of the Friends of the Park email.

Friends of the Park Email to Members – 19 Nov 2014

November 17, 2014 – Congratulations to Governor Elect Kenneth Mapp
On behalf of the residents of Coral Bay, I sent this congratulatory email to Governor Elect Ken Mapp, the 8th Governor of the US Virgin Islands:

Good evening Governor Elect Mapp,
Congratulations on being elected the 8th Governor of the United States Virgin Islands ! We in Coral Bay feel particularly honored that you chose to spend the eve of your election with our small group of involved citizens. Thank you for the attention you showed to our community.

If I can be of any assistance in the days, weeks and months ahead, please don’t hesitate to call on me. I understand that you have an ambitious agenda, but I trust our issues won’t fall off your radar. Depending on how things proceed with the marina permits, I may call upon you to try to schedule a public hearing, as you suggested, to help you better understand the basis of our economic, social and environmental concerns. Based on what we learned about your personal and public values last night, I believe you will be sympathetic to sound reasoning and good business sense.

But for now, enjoy your hard-earned victory!

Best regards,
David Silverman

November 16, 2014 – Gubernatorial Candidate Kenneth Mapp Visits Coral Bay
On the eve of the runoff election, gubernatorial candidate Kenneth Mapp and his running mate Osbert Potter visited Coral Bay to attend a “town hall” style meeting, answering questions and concerns of residents on matters of local importance, including the Coral Bay Marina. Click on the link below to see some video clips of key comments made by Governor Elect Ken Mapp on the Summers End Group marina:

Kenneth Mapp Speaking About Summers End Group Marina

November 14, 2014 – (SEG) Legal Appeals Filed Against Permits Issued to Summers End Group
Appeals were filed today with the Board of Land Use Appeals (BLUA) against the CZM permits issued to the Summers End Group for the marina and mooring field in Coral Bay Harbor. The appeals cite a myriad of defects in the application documents that were submitted, the procedure used by CZM to act on the application, conflicts of interest on the part of a sitting CZM board member, defects in the granted permits, and total lack of environmental review. The complete legal filings may be found by clicking on the image below – the documents entitled “Appendix B” are the most relevant ones, containing the specific complaints.

November 12, 2014 – (SEG) Legal Strategy Announced For Appeals of SEG Permits
See our Press Release announcing partnership with Virgin Islands Conservation Society (VICS) and introducing our legal teal to fight the Summers End Group permits.

Press Release – Major Legal Strategy Announcement

October 3, 2014 – Creation of the Save Coral Bay Fund on GoFundMe
Following the CZM decision to grant permits to the Summers End Group, we’ve launched a funding campaign to underwrite the costs of our legal appeals. It’s not finely polished, but it gets the message and the urgency across. Visit this link to see the current status of the campaign:

GoFundMe.com/coralbay

October 1, 2014 – (SEG) CZM Decision Meeting on Summers End Group Permits
With a 2-0 vote the St John Coastal Zone Management committee approved the Major Land Permit and Major Water Permit for the Summers End Group, with virtually no significant special conditions. This clear lack of review, lack of findings required under the CZM Act, lack of complete applications, and lack of legal process will be appealed within 45 days.

August 20, 2014 – (SEG) Coastal Zone Management Public Hearing for Summers End Group

An overflow crowd of St John residents attended the CZM public hearing for the Summers End Group. Extensive testimony was given on the problems with the huge project, and the numerous ways in which it was not consistent with the goals, policies and standards of the Virgin Islands Coastal Zone Management Act.