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Developer alleges dredge dumping on leased Pleasure Island property; council asks attorney to review
Summary
A developer and two residents told the Port Arthur City Council the Army Corps or a private dredging contractor has dumped spoils on land they say is city-owned and under lease, and the council asked its city attorney to review the lease and related 1933 records before taking enforcement action.
A Port Arthur developer told the City Council on Dec. 2 that dredging spoils are being placed on a parcel on Pleasure Island that his company holds under a lease and that the city must enforce the lease terms.
"This thing went all the way up to the state of Texas support letters... This project is a $5,500,000,000 development on this island," said Harry Crawford, managing member of Diligence Offshore Services, during public comment. He said the city granted his company "quiet enjoyment" under a lease and that recent dumping by the Army Corps of Engineers or a private contractor is preventing the project from proceeding.
Council member Bill Lewis requested the city attorney be authorized to send a registered letter to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and to the private dredging company to vacate city property, citing a lease clause that requires vacating the land once it is to be improved. "They must terminate that. They have agreed upon it," Lewis said during the discussion.
Other council members urged caution. One member said the council should let the attorney research the document history — including a referenced 1933 title record — before declaring the agreement terminated because the Corps is a federal agency and may retain certain rights absent clear legal authority. "We don't have any authority over the Army Corps of Engineers, absent some agreement like this," a council member said.
Resident Holland Hoffer asked whether the Corps had been notified that the item was on the agenda and whether the city is compiling a list of lease properties it plans to end; the mayor's office confirmed the dredging item and the lease/vacate item were listed separately and that staff would proceed with one person speaking at a time.
The council did not take immediate enforcement action at the meeting. Instead, members asked the city attorney to review the complete lease and historical title records and report back so the council could determine next steps.
