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Hurricane Maria destroyed the Caneel Bay Resort in St. John. An agreement between U.S. Department of the Interior and EHI Acquisitions is set to jumpstart construction after years of impasse. By. ANNE BEQUETTE FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES
The National Park Service (NPS) said Monday it will release the Engineering Evaluation and Cost Analysis (EE/CA) draft report on environmental conditions at Caneel Bay Resort on June 10, and begin a 30-day comment period to receive public input on the report and findings to date.
The EE/CA — initiated at Virgin Islands National Park in February — includes the collection, survey and inspection of soil and groundwater samples, buried waste and building materials present in the designated study area, and an analysis conducted by an independent, accredited laboratory. The resulting draft report covers the methodology, results and findings, alternatives to address any risks identified as unacceptable to human health or the environment, and recommended cleanup actions.
A public Notice of Availability of the EE/CA report will be published in print media and on the project website at https://parkplanning.nps.gov/CaneelBayAssessment.
The public is encouraged to review the draft report and offer feedback during the public comment period, which will run from June 10 – July 9. During this time, the NPS said it will hold two virtual public meetings on the EE/CA report, including:
- A Community Learning Session on June 10 at 5:30 pm for NPS officials to provide attendees an overview of the draft report and findings, and
- A NPS Listening Session on June 24 at 5:30 pm where the public will have an opportunity to provide oral comments on the draft report.
The public may join the virtual Microsoft Teams meeting by clicking here on their computer or mobile app, or by calling (audio only) +1 202-640-1187, phone conference ID is 872 808 560#
Comments may also be submitted electronically through the project website. The 30-day public comment period will be extended for an additional 15 days upon timely request.
