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Posted March 10, 2004 Ecosystem Management Agreement (EMA) The following is an excerpt from the Department of Environmental Protection’s web page specific to their Northwest District that contains information about St. Joe’s Projects in that district (which also includes Franklin County). APTAWEB suggests that St. Joe Company seems to create "project templates" and when needed, selects a template to use for a new project. We can learn a lot by studying current projects under way in counties to the west of us. "On August 15, 2003, The St. Joe Company requested that the Department enter into a binding EMA for dredge/fill, stormwater and wetland mitigation banking activities within a designated EMA area in Western Bay and Eastern Walton counties. This request came after over 3 years of discussions and meetings including several state and federal agencies. The EMA approach is intended to provide both a flexible and predictable permitting process that will benefit the public and the applicant (The St. Joe Company) and will yield a net ecosystem benefit to the region over the traditional individual permit process…." The DEP web page for the St. Joe Company has many links that provide additional information to review and keep in mind.The following article printed in the March 10 edition of the Tallahasses Democrat is also instructive. "St. Joe Co. stalling on Timber Island land bid, state says The St. Joe Co. has sought to delay closing on the company's bid to buy state land on Timber Island, according to a state official." The full article will be available on the Web for a limited time: http://www.tallahassee.com/mld/tallahassee/news/local/8147124.htm (c) 2004 Tallahassee Democrat and wire service sources. All Rights Reserved. |