Quick scan environmental impact assessment of the St. Eustatius harbour extension

At St. Eustatius a project has started for the improvement and expansion of the Seaport St. Eustatius. The planned activities related to the project need to be evaluated in order to comply with the legal requirements for a licence from the competent authority Rijkswaterstaat Noordzee in the Netherlands.

A quick scan of the potential environmental impact for the planned activities regarding the St. Eustatius harbour extension was commissioned by Rijkswaterstaat Noordzee. This quick scan was performed within limited time and based upon limited background information. No additional research on site was performed. Consequently, this report provides an environmental impact assessment based only on a review of literature and expert judgement.

Within the project it is foreseen that an estimated 10.000 m3 of sediment will be dredged from the turning basin and dock in the new harbour and from the old harbour. The dredged material will be disposed of in the sheltered inner harbour and south of the breakwater. This deepening of the St. Eustatius harbour and associated activities can potentially negatively impact the environment (directly) through:

  1. Destruction of habitat on the dredged site and on the site where the dredge material is deposited
  2. The amount of sediment that will be dispersed into St. Eustatius coastal waters, and the cascading impact thereof on marine habitats
  3. Noise in marine habitats caused by the placement of piles and moorings

The resulting deepened harbour, the disposal sites and changes in future use may cause long term (indirect) negative impact on the environment due to:

  1. Dispersal of the dredge spill deposits, and thereby threatening marine habitats
  2. Increased turbidity due to harbour sediment erosion, increased sediment trapping and more shipping movements
  3. Changing current and wave patterns, thereby threatening key monuments of human history close to the shoreline
  4. The increased risk of spills (fuel, oil, bilge water), introduction of nutrients and marine litter, and introduction of invasive species (bio pollution)

These potential impacts have been investigated in this report and have resulted in the following findings:

The tidal and residual currents around St. Eustatius are weak and estimated to be up to 20 cm/s. Near the harbour area, the residual flow is probably dominantly north. The wave height is low throughout the larger part of the year, except during hurricanes and tropical storms. From December to April cold fronts in Florida regularly generate swells from the north to northeast (“brown seas”). These events occur once or twice a month, last for a day to a week, and may generate swell waves 3 to 5 m high.

The marine substrate in the harbour area consists of a hard substratum overlying a more loosely packed conglomerate including sand and pebbles. This hard substratum consists of large rock fragments and cemented conglomerates. Removing this hard layer makes the underlying softer material available for erosion, especially since the deepened area will be exposed to the winter swells and has a water depth where the swells may break (and hence lead to high near-bed shear stresses). The risk for increased levels of suspended sediment due to erosion is probably small, but depends on the fine silt content of the sediment to be exposed. The available information does not indicate the presence of such fine material in the sediment.

During the dredging works, the sediment spill is expected to be limited. It is assumed dredging will be done during calm conditions. Some sediment will enter the water column during dredging, but due to the low ambient currents most will immediately settle from suspension. If present, silt and flocculated mud will be transported 1-2 km northward. Unflocculated mud can be expected to mix with ambient currents within days, leading to only limited increase in turbidity.

Storage of dredged material occurs in the sheltered inner harbour and south of the breakwater. Little dispersion of this sediment is expected during the dredging and storage activities partly due to the planned placement of bubble screens.

Over longer timescales, the removal of the hard layer will probably lead to higher turbidity in the harbour during storms. The winter storms are associated with southward currents, and therefore some of this sediment may be transported south of the wind breaker.

It is expected that deepening of the harbour will lead to a minor change in alongshore transport in the inner harbour, but will not affect alongshore transport north of the old harbour or south of the breakwater. The wave height near the ruins just south of the old harbour will probably increase due to deepening which may have a small effect on the coast.

Based on the above findings and expert judgement regarding sediment transport and turbidity changes the following conclusions are drawn on the potential impact on the environment:

The sediment that enters the water during dredging works is expected to settle relatively quickly, leading to limited sediment-plumes and turbidity. Therefore, no mayor or irreversible impact from dredging works is to be expected on the surrounding habitats. This is based on the assumption that fine silt is not present at the site. However, if these sediments are present, habitats up to 1-2 km north of the harbour can be affected. The impact is estimated, however, to be limited due to the low expected volumes.

Dredging works will impact living organisms at the dredged site and deposit- sites, covering a total area of approximately 1-2 ha (dredged and dredge-deposit site). Recovery is likely to occur over time if environmental conditions permit. This may take up to several years in case of removal of climax stage ecosystems such as coral reefs and seagrass habitats. 

Direct impact on marine mammals due to pile driving and placement of moorings are considered to be negligible as the migrating season has already passed and noise levels are considered to be relatively low.

During the deposition of the dredged sediment at the two locations, no impact on surrounding habitats is expected due to the minor dispersion and mitigation measures taken (bubble sheets).

Unless added measures are taken it is expected that the dredge deposit on the south side of the breakwater and south of the old harbour will erode and will be dispersed during storm conditions. The rate at which this deposit will erode, and how much that contributes to overall turbidity during the storm-event, cannot be predicted based on available information.

An adverse impact of the deposited sediment over longer timescales on surrounding habitats cannot be excluded. Erosion of the southern deposit during storm events or hurricanes is likely to occur. This means that it cannot be ruled out that an extra total volume of 7000m3 sediment can be transported towards the southern reserve during a single hurricane event, potentially smothering coral and seagrass habitats. This might lead to severe impact on some species of corals and sea grasses. A significant part of the southern reserve is covered with these species. Current species coverage and abundance is not known, and therefore impact cannot be quantified.

Besides the intrinsic ecological value of the habitats of the southern reserve, the southern reserve holds many important dive sites. The environmental quality of the southern reserve habitats is therefore of high importance to the sustainable economic development and prospects of St. Eustatius. Any risk of deterioration of the southern reserve through resuspension of the dredged material and deposition within the southern reserve should be considered with caution and necessary preventive actions should be taken.

Potential indirect impacts on historical monuments could occur as a result of slightly increased wave heights in the harbour but are expected to be minor.

Indirect impact due to more extensive use of the harbour is expected to be a risk, but hard to quantify. Maintenance dredging is not expected, and if needed, the impact due to sediment suspension will no doubt be less than that of the dredging related to this extension, thus limited (assuming calm conditions and no silt content). Risk of bio-pollution is likely. In order to assess actual impact and proper measures, monitoring should be considered. 

Preventive actions should focus on the deposited sediment in the southern corner of the breakwater and lack of information on silt and mud content. Suggestions are to:

  • Retrieve information on silt, mud and chalk content in the dredging area
  • Make sure sediment deposits cannot erode towards southern reserve. Proper constructions
  • should be considered with the contractor and island bureau
  • Halt dredging and deposit activities temporarily in case of elevated seawater temperatures
  • and during rough seas (to avoid multiple stress)
  • Monitor surrounding habitat quality (reefs and seagrass) over time
  • Monitor future use and related pressures and mitigate as considered needed 

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