Katie Zimmerman: Coastal Conservation League

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July 19, 2016 – Katie Zimmerman of the Coastal Conservation League spoke to our club this week giving an update on key issues of local importance.

Katie joined the League in 2009 as a Project Manager after working at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Coastal Services Center on performance metrics, strategic planning, and legislative tracking. She became Director of the Air, Water, & Public Health Program in 2013. Prior to her job at NOAA, Katie led several research and outreach projects on environmental justice, community empowerment, green building, and water quality. She earned her M.S. in Environmental Studies and her B.A. in English Literature with minors in Political Science and Environmental Studies, all from the College of Charleston. She currently serves on the advisory board of the Palmetto Cycling Coalition and the educational advisory board to the Lowcountry Graduate Center in Healthcare Management and Community Wellness. 

The Coastal Conservation League is an environmental advocacy group formed in 1989. Their work is divided among the following program areas: Air and Water, Energy and Climate, Food and Agriculture, Land and Community, and Transportation. The key local issues Katie brought to our group were: Captain Sam’s Spit and shoreline law, Seismic testing in the Atlantic, the Legare bridge bike/pedestrian lane, cruise ship legislation and the 526 extension.

Captain Sam’s Spit is highly erosional land mass at the tip of Kiawah Island. The Coastal Conservation League believes this is land that should not be developed due to the erosional character of the land mass and the effects development would have on wildlife. The Senate recently passed the largest update to the Shoreline Management Act in 25 years. They will essentially set a development baseline that can never move seaward again but could move inland in the future.

Seismic testing in the Atlantic is part of an ongoing discussion regarding oil drilling in the Atlantic. Seismic air gun testing is the first step companies use to map oil deposits. Although we cannot hear this testing, ocean life can be exposed to this 24 hours a day for weeks. It can deafen marine creatures, interferes with communication for dolphins and whales essentially disrupting every aspect of their lives and can result in permanent deafness. There are 7 permit applications in process for this right now but no study has been done to determine its ultimate effect. All coastal municipalities have opposed this as well for it is not only an environmental concern but commercial fisheries will also be adversely affected.

The Legare Bridge Bike Lane is a project the League is very supportive of and the City of Charleston is to reaffirm its support as well. The county conducted a test by blocking one lane and found the maximum delay to vehicular traffic to be 1:08 minutes. Charleston really needs this in order to maintain it’s stature globally as well as meet the expectations of companies and people moving to the area.

The debate over cruise ship legislation continues. The major concern is the home porting of cruise ships in Charleston as opposed to the City being a port of call. Home porting means that people board and disembark here bringing their vehicles to park as well as all of the supplies that must be loaded on a ship. The League would like to see some safeguards in place to mitigate the potential pollution and congestion this may cause.  Currently an assessment of the overall impact is being conducted on what is equivalent to an airport in downtown Charleston.

Katie spent less time on the 526 extension, indicating that it was on a referendum  list for County Council to vote on that evening.

Katie concluded with brief discussion on the Plastic Bag Survey they are conducting indicating that it was for information gathering only to see how people and businesses feel about banning plastic bags.

— Don Baus, Keyway Committee Chair