Are boats moored off Hilton Head polluting shellfish beds? Town says no, DHEC says maybe

Town of Hilton Head Island officials say they have worked too hard to reopen shellfish beds in Broad Creek to have a state agency close them again.

In 1995, about 500 acres of shellfish waters in southern Beaufort County, including parts of Broad Creek, were closed because of high levels of fecal coliform.

Hilton Head changed some land use policies, eliminated leaky septic systems and corrected drainage problems. It was then able to reopen the beds several years ago, said Mayor Tom Peeples.

Now those beds are again at risk of pollution, according to the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control.

Last year, there were about 10 boats moored in an area of Broad Creek west of Palmetto Bay Marina; about five additional boats moored in that same area in December.

When more than 10 boats are moored in an area, it meets the definition of a marina, said DHEC spokesman Adam Myrick. The agency automatically closes shellfish waters near marinas because of concerns related to fuel, boat traffic and the potential for waste coming off boats that would make oysters unsafe to eat.

In December, DHEC officials closed about 2,000 feet of oyster beds in Broad Creek near where the boats are moored.

"It will stay closed until our next (water) sample run or until we make a patrol or happen to see there are less than 10 boats there," Myrick said. "We don't have the resources to go there every day and check to see if there are fewer than 10

boats."

DHEC samples water quality at 26 monitoring stations in Broad Creek about once a month, Myrick said. Even if testing did not reveal pollution, Myrick said the shellfish beds would remain closed because of the "marina definition."

"We don't know that they are discharging, but we don't know that they are not," he said.

IS THIS EVEN A PROBLEM?

Town Councilman John Safay said it's "absurd" for DHEC to close the beds on the assumption that the boats are polluting the creek.

He said few people live aboard them.

"Most of those boats have been there as long as 15 years without anyone living on them, but they are used occasionally," he said.

Safay is a past commodore of the nearby Yacht Club of Hilton Head Island. Some of the boats in question belong to club members. It's unclear who owns the others.

"Creating this area off-limits for shellfish when there is no testing involved ... it doesn't look right," he said. "And it makes it sound like we have a problem where one doesn't exist."

The Town Council asked town manager Steve Riley at a meeting of the Intergovernmental Relations Committee last week to study the issue and report back.

Boaters also are frustrated with the recent closure, said Larry Jordan, owner of Lighthouse Yacht Sales Inc. and a member of the island yacht club.

"The only problem that (the boats) present is if they are sitting out there in a storm and are not properly moored; they can drift and cause problems at the marina," such as knocking into boats or docks, Jordan said. "It's not the boaters that are polluting Broad Creek."

POLLUTION SOURCES

After the 1995 shellfish bed closure, a study released in 1997 indicated leaky septic tanks and animal waste were the most likely culprits.

According to DHEC's 2008 update, several sources of actual or potential pollution are listed as affecting Broad Creek.

Sources like wastewater treatment facilities and marinas are strictly regulated by state agencies. For precautionary reasons, DHEC closes shellfish beds near those areas.

Stormwater runoff and septic systems are also sources of pollution. When it rains, pollutants from roads and parking lots discharge into the creek. Runoff can contain fecal bacteria from pets, wildlife and horses. During heavy rains, failing septic systems also can discharge into the creek.

The 2008 report also indicates boat traffic can cause pollution. While numerous sewage pump-out facilities are in Broad Creek, a potential for discharge of untreated sewage exists, according to the report.

It specifically points to a "non-permitted mooring field" in Broad Creek as a concern.

LEGAL MOORING?

Dan Burger of DHEC's Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management said Broad Creek is not a designated mooring field, and anyone wanting to moor there must have a permit.

Unpermitted mooring is becoming an increasing problem, he said. As boating becomes more popular -- and waterfront property and associated docks are less available -- residents are beginning to moor in open water. It is also cheaper than paying dock fees.

State law does not prevent boaters from anchoring in open water as long as they hold the correct title and registration and do not block navigable channels. But mooring without a permit is against state law.

"It's something that needs to be addressed," Burger said. "We have recently been getting some phone calls about the situation."

Burger said DHEC is trying to identify who owns the boats on Broad Creek and whether individual mooring buoys were permitted at any time or could potentially be permitted.

"We are working to fully comprehend the situation before we really ramp up an effort to get the waterways into full compliance," he said.