Sandals to build a JETTY on the 7 mile beach?

[Rob]

So under the "Beach Control Act" - would that mandate NEPA to create an independent report regarding the Sandals proposal? If so, has one been done? Is it in progess?

In the States, the EPA takes on the task of doing the counter study looking closer at the alternative solutions. It appears the same will hold true with the Jamaican system. The report is a revised report based on input from NEPA engineers.

RG,

It looks like RastaCrab already answered your question. If you would like to reach out to NEPA, you can find all the contact
information you could possibly want by googling "NEPA Jamaica".

If you take the time to read the links that have been posted, especially from the United Nations Environment Program that has the entire Negril area as its pilot project focus and the full Sandals proposal, you would see all your questions from your second post answered as well.

For further information, please feel free to contact NEPA.

[Ohio_Buckeye_1]

I, too, have signed the petition. But after downloading and reading the actual report commissioned by Sandals - I am not nearly as worried as I was when I heard the word JETTY. I pictured a huge rock pile extending out from the beach at the southern end of Sandals's property - one, ruining the unbroken view of beach/sea - and two, just blocking the flow of sand down the beach - and selfishly depriving their neighbors of their sand. But that is NOT what they are proposing.

Below is pic from the report that should help crystalize the discussion. It shows the locations recommended for Sandals to add the various structures to keep the replenished sand from eroding away. Almost everything is OFF-SHORE and UNDERWATER.

a)The main one is an underwater breakwater 175m long made of large boulders running parallel to the beach about 140m offshore. It is designed to be about 0.3m below mean sea level (MSL) in water about 2m deep. It should be underwater except at very lowest tides.

b)The other two are underwater artificial reefs at 58m and 178m length, made of something called BioRock. They are also roughly parallel to the beach about 170m and 250m offshore, respectively. They are in water about 2.5m deep and designed to be about 1-1.5m below MSL. They are less of a breakwater because they are not solid and farther under the surface of the water.

c)The final one is a 26m extension to the existing so-called northern groyne. It will be a typical jetty, but covered with timber so Sandals can use it for a dock for their water sports toys. It appears to be very minor.

d)They had also originally planned for 5 groynes (labelled A-E in the pic) along the beach that would be UNDER THE SAND, not the water. But their study found that the sand movement was the same with/without these. So in their final recommendation to Sandals, these sand groynes were removed from the plan.

[Ohio_Buckeye_1]

Some further thoughts...As I said, I signed the petition and wish they weren't going to add man-made stuctures. But now my mind is way more at ease.

I had thought this was going to be a small, not very well thought through, proposal consisting of a short statement about Sandals plans and a few pictures and diagrams showing where a jetty would go. They typical Jamaican building project.

I also had thought they were talking about a typical boulder-rock jetty starting on the beach and extending out into the sea the approx 175m everyone has been mentioning. Beside destroying the natural ocean view, I thought this jetty would simply block the flow of sand south to other properties, selfishly.

Instead, this seems to be a very professional study done by experts making a recommendation to Sandals after looking at many options. Also, most of the proposed structures will be underwater and therefore out of sight.

Also, it seems to take into account many factors I thought they would ignore. For me, the main one being the affects on the rest of the beach properties - seems they will not be affecting them adversely. They also propose, just for one example, that the sea grass in places where the structures are to be built, be relocated to other areas in front of Sandals that are now barren of sea grass. So no net loss of any more sea grass.

I would bet this proposal will probably get approved. So my thoughts are that we should concentrate on demanding that the actions they propose that Sandals take to mitigate the affects of this project on the environment, and neighboring properties, are enforced. There is a whole section on this covering many things.

What they are proposing as mitigating steps won't be easy or cheap, and in Jamaica things like that can easily be skipped over at construction time. To me, it seems like that has a more likely chance of success.

Just my 2-cents.

[DaveC]

The only link I have been able to find to the actual proposal has expired. It seems alot of people are signing the petition without reading or even looking over the proposal since it does not seem available anymore for some reason.


This one is the only one I have been able to find and once I get there there download link says the document has expired.
http://www.yousendit.com/transfer.ph...a41833b61ebe00

Does anyone know where I can find a valid. working link to a copy of the actual proposal?

Thanks for any help!
Dave

[rastagirl777]

Dave, that link was sent to me last week I think through a personal friend - using a site like "yousendit" (i.e., a drop-mail site) it's only "up in the cloud" for a certain period of time. I'll ask my friend if he'll be willing to send it again.

A lot of people actually DID read the proposal when the link was posted here and other places originally, plus my friends in Negril had access to it as well, so many of those signatures probably did come from folks who read it. Can't speak to all of course. There were 250 signatures on the petition before I personally got the link to the proposal.

[Ohio_Buckeye_1]

The only link I have been able to find to the actual proposal has expired. It seems alot of people are signing the petition without reading or even looking over the proposal since it does not seem available anymore for some reason.

This one is the only one I have been able to find and once I get there there download link says the document has expired.
http://www.yousendit.com/transfer.ph...a41833b61ebe00

Does anyone know where I can find a valid. working link to a copy of the actual proposal?

Thanks for any help!
Dave

I had downloaded it to my PC.
I just put a copy up in my Google Docs and shared it out. First time doing that, so may have to tweak the permissions if doesn't work.
Try this link and let me know how it works.
https://docs.google.com/leaf?id=0B0U...thkey=COPOrccI

[Jamerican Revelations]

Perhaps the people who signed this petition could find some more worth while causes that truly affect the world.

[Rob]

I am kind of surprised that no one has yet pointed out that according to the historical shoreline comparison photo in the Sandals proposal (Figure 1.1), the shoreline of the beach in 1968 (earliest year shown) for the property in question is nearly identical to what it was in 2006 (the last year shown).

The beach shoreline was larger in the 1980. Using the 1991 shoreline, there are places that this was larger than the 1980 shoreline, and places that this was smaller than both the 1968 and 2006 shorelines.

According to this very basic information, it seems that the beach in this area will recede and expand at various rates as time goes on. Since the Negril beach has been here for literally thousands of years, and our minimal data goes back an amazingly short forty years, perhaps the erosion being mentioned is nothing more than nature doing what it naturally does.

While the current state of the beach in some areas is blamed on the usual suspects, how can it be explained that the beach in this area was smaller prior to commercial development and the climate change (1968 shoreline) than it was in 1980?

Just food for thought.

[Nick]

I agree Rob. I did post an article from Yahoo Travel (that doesn't appear to be here anymore)that spoke about the use of a Jetty on another island in the Caribbean that ruined the beach by halting the natural migration of sand

[Rob]

Nick,

It is illegal to post copyrighted content that is not yours..