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Commission members press for Army Corps study after conflicting shoaling statements; ask OGC to seek records
Summary
Commissioners raised new concerns after the Army Corps representative reportedly said a multimillion-dollar shoaling study had been given to the city and concluded the spoil site was not the source; commissioners asked the Office of General Counsel to pursue the study and follow up with the Corps.
Members of the Jacksonville Waterways Commission on June 12 discussed persistent shoaling in the St. Johns River near the Clapboard Creek/Raymond Drive/Heckscher Drive area and pressed for documentation after an Army Corps representative said a study concluded the spoil site did not cause the shoal.
Commission volunteers and staff described a visible berm and continuing shoal that they and local residents believe has built up after dredge material was pumped into containment behind the Palms Fish Camp. At a recent meeting a Corps official reportedly said the agency has completed a study and turned it over to the city; commissioners and staff said the commission had not received or seen the study and called for verification.
Commissioner Devereaux suggested using public‑records mechanisms to obtain the study; Commissioner Hardesty asked the Office of General Counsel to draft a Freedom of Information Act request to the Army Corps asking for the study and supporting materials. Commissioners said the Corps had previously suggested a study could cost roughly $3 million; if the study exists, they asked for copies to assess its methods and conclusions.
Dr. Jerry Pinto and other technical participants said quick spot‑checks are not straightforward: sediment released and subsequent flows can alter particle distributions, and access to private sites or corporate-controlled areas (cited as Omnicorp in the meeting) has been limited. Commissioners agreed that clarifying whether the Corps study exists and, if so, obtaining it was critical before accepting the Corps’ statements at face value.
The commission also discussed the artificial‑reef workstream and said that procurement for reef material and coordination for reef projects requires specialized scientific and engineering expertise; the subcommittee plans to meet again in August.
The meeting produced a direction to pursue formal records: commissioners asked staff/OGC to confirm whether the Army Corps indeed provided the study to city staff and, if necessary, to request the materials through public‑records channels. No formal vote recorded on the FOIA request in the transcript; commissioners made the instruction as part of the discussion.
