110 HR 6389 IH: To modify Captain Sam’s Inlet Unit M08 of the John H.
U.S. House of Representatives
2008-06-26
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EN
Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain.
1.
(a)Congress
finds the following:
(1)The John H. Chafee
Coastal Barrier Resources System (the System) was created by Congress when it
enacted the Coastal Barrier Resources Act of 1982 (CBRA). The System is a
collection of specific areas of land and associated aquatic habitats delineated
on maps adopted by Congress.
(2)The System was
expanded by amendments adopted in 1990 and currently contains 856 units and
areas consisting of approximately 3.1 million acres of undeveloped coastal land
and associated aquatic habitat.
(3)The original
non-digital System maps were based on information that is now between 18 and 26
years old and were drawn without precision. Since 1990, to avoid inequities and
to correct mapping errors, Congress has enacted 17 public laws to modify 43
units.
(4)The State of South
Carolina has a well-established and respected coastal management program to
manage beachfront development. The State’s program is designed to protect
sensitive and fragile areas from inappropriate development and to provide
adequate environmental safeguards with respect to the construction of
facilities in the coastal zone.
(5)Between 1988 and
1999, State and local regulations did not authorize development of the western
end of Kiawah Island. However, in 1999, South Carolina established a setback
line that represents a detailed analysis of long-term accretion trends in the
area. Establishment of the setback line authorized development of a portion of
Captain Sam’s Inlet Unit M08 that was previously not authorized for
development. In 2005, the Town of Kiawah Island’s Town Council adopted a
Development Agreement to authorize and regulate development of the area.
(6)Kiawah Island is a
world-renowned, environmental award winning community known for responsible and
sound development.
(7)Kiawah Island and
the associated beach, dune, and hummock habitats provide a range of
opportunities to increase the ecological health and value to numerous native
plant and animal species.
(8)To maintain the
integrity of the System, the modification of Captain Sam’s Inlet Unit M08
described in section 3 and the habitat enhancement actions described in section
4 will increase the fish and wildlife habitat value of the Unit and areas in
proximity to the Unit.
(b)Congress
declares that it is the purpose of this Act to enhance the ecological value of
Captain Sam’s Inlet Unit M08 and areas in proximity to the Unit by modifying
the Unit in a manner that adds 178 acres and removes approximately 61.5 acres
which will soon be developed using a very low density approach, and by
encouraging implementation of voluntary, supplemental ecological enhancement
projects. The Unit modification will enable all residents of the area to be
treated comparably.
2.Description of
Captain Sam’s Inlet Unit M08
(a)Captain Sam’s Inlet Unit M08 includes the area along
Captain Sam’s Inlet at Kiawah Island’s western end. It was created in 1982 and
expanded in 1990. The Unit currently includes the western end of Kiawah Island,
neighboring fast land to the north and associated aquatic habitat. Current
acreage of the Unit is approximately 1,182 acres, including roughly 200 acres
of fast land and 982 acres of associated aquatic habitat.
(b)Unit M07/M07P or
Bird KeyA separate, much larger System unit covers the eastern
portion of Kiawah Island. That Unit, known as Unit M07/M07P or Bird Key, is
approximately 7,094 total acres, including roughly 687 acres of fast land and
6,407 acres of associated aquatic habitat.
3.Modification of
Captain Sam’s Inlet Unit M08
(a)The replacement map referenced in section 5 expands
Unit M08 by 116 acres. The modified Unit increases in size from approximately
1,182 total acres to approximately 1,299 total acres (roughly 164 fast land and
1,135 associated aquatic habitat). The modification represents a ratio of
approximately 3 acres added:1 acre removed.
(b)The replacement map referenced in section 5—
(1)adds 178 acres to
the Unit—25 acres of land in the northeastern corner of the Unit and 153 acres
of associated aquatic habitat; and
(2)removes 61.5 acres
from the Unit—39 acres authorized for development by the State in 1999 and
rezoned by the Town of Kiawah in 2005, and 22.5 acres on two adjacent
islands.
4.Supplemental
projects to enhance ecological value
(a)Density
reductions and conservation easements
(1)There are existing
entitlements for 44 dwelling units on the 25 acres of fast land that are being
added to the Unit. To increase the habitat value of the modified Captain Sam’s
Inlet Unit M08, the owners of this land have indicated a willingness on a
voluntary basis to reduce substantially these entitlements and grant
conservation easements to an appropriate conservation organization.
(2)There are existing
entitlements for 460 dwelling units on the 61.5 acres that are being removed
from the Unit. To increase the habitat value of the modified Captain Sam’s
Inlet Unit M08 and the area being removed from the Unit, the owners of this
land have indicated a willingness on a voluntary basis to reduce substantially
these entitlements and, as a result, reduce allowable density.
(b)
(1)A
privately funded project is being developed to increase the ecological health
and habitat value of the modified Captain Sam’s Inlet Unit M08 and related
habitat in and around Kiawah Island. The South Carolina Department of Natural
Resources, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and regional and local officials
and interested conservation groups are being consulted about project design and
implementation.
(2)The project is
being designed as a valuable public-private partnership project to increase the
overall ecological value of habitats for a diversity of native fauna and flora.
Species likely to benefit will range from culturally and ecologically
significant plant species such as sweetgrass (Muhlenbergia filipes), to
indicator mammalian species such as the bobcat (Felis rufus), and declining or
threatened avian species such as the piping plover (Charadrius melodus) and
painted buntings (Passerine ciris).
5.Replacement of
Coastal Barrier Resource System map relating to Captain Sam’s Inlet Unit M08 in
Charleston County, South Carolina
(a)The Coastal Barrier Resource System map of Captain Sam’s
Inlet Unit M08 that is dated October 24, 1990, and included in the set of maps
referred to in section 4(a) of the Coastal Barrier Resources Act (16 U.S.C.
3503(a)), is replaced by the map of the unit entitled John H. Chafee
Coastal Barrier Resources System Captain Sam’s Inlet Unit M08
and dated
March 2008.
(b)The
Secretary of the Interior shall keep the replacement map referred to in
subsection (a) on file and available for inspection in accordance with section
4(b) of the Coastal Barrier Resources Act (16 U.S.C. 3503(b)).