Экологическая группа подала иск против строительства яхтенного порта на острове Сент-Джон

Construction of a proposed yacht marina in the U.S. Virgin Islands overseen by Louisiana natives and defended by former U.S. Rep. Garret Graves of Baton Rouge came close to fruition after more than a decade of regulatory hurdles and legal challenges, but it now faces another obstacle after local environmentalists sued the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The local groups argue the Corps didn't sufficiently study the environmental and aesthetic impacts of the marina project, but Graves argues the yearslong permitting process was more than enough and is in fact an example of a broken, burdensome federal bureaucracy. Located in the town of Coral Bay on the island of St. John, the marina complex is slated to have 115 boat slips for yachts ranging from 30 to 150 feet at a cost of about $130 million. The developer behind the project, Summer's End Group, is run by Denham Springs native Chaliese Summers and her partner, Louisiana native Rick Barksdale. Summers and Barksdale have lived on St. John for close to two decades, though they maintain a second home in Louisiana close to their children and grandchildren, Summers said. The permitting process for the marina started in 2014. After lengthy local debates over the project, the Army Corps this spring granted permits allowing construction to proceed. But this month, the group Save Coral Bay sued to block that approval. “The construction approved by the Army Corps will directly harm, deteriorate and in some cases destroy the aesthetics, habitat and natural features of Coral Bay,” the lawsuit argues. The developer challenged that claim. “The Army Corps reviewed the permit for more than 10 years, and the issues raised in the lawsuit were all identified and fully addressed during the permitting process,” Summers told The Advocate | Times-Picayune in a statement. Summers said the project “includes millions of dollars in environmental restoration and infrastructure improvements.” The Corps did not respond to a request for comment. 'Stupid policies and delays’ The lawsuit says Graves, who sat on the House Natural Resources Committee, advocated for approval of the project with the Corps and other federal agencies in 2023 and 2024 and received regular updates on it. The lawsuit suggests the Corps’ review of the marina project became more lax due to Graves' involvement. Graves countered, saying that “conducting oversight here is what public service looks like.” He said he never advocated for the permit approvals but rather for a decision. “It would take 30 seconds of a web search to show that my entire career was spent bashing the Corps’ stupid policies and delays when they adversely affected our citizens,” he said. “In this case, our constituents borrowed untold dollars and have been dealing with the federal bureaucracy for 15 years to get a permit. No constituent should be treated this way.” The former congressman for years has been a fierce critic of the Corps, including when he chaired a congressional committee overseeing the agency and before that when he led Louisiana's Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority. In 2013 as a state official, he called the Corps “a complete disaster.” Graves, who was elected to Congress in 2014 and in 2024 opted not to run again after his seat was redistricted, said that he learned about the marina project from constituents in 2017 and has worked with federal agencies on it since that time. A year ago, in August 2025, Graves traveled to the U.S. Virgin Islands to testify before the Legislature there in favor of the marina project. He argued that federal bureaucracy was to blame for hampering millions of dollars of private investment and an economic development project that began years before. “We’ve been working with the alphabet soup of federal agencies and even flagged the Summer’s End project to the White House as an example of how broken the federal regulatory process has become,” Graves told members of the U.S. Virgin Islands Legislature. “Now, we are seeing the attention on this project like never before.” The lawsuit says an investor in the development company contributed $25,000 to Graves’ reelection campaign in September of 2023. The lawsuit does not identify the donor. Graves strenuously objected to any insinuation he was influenced by campaign donations, saying no ethics complaints have been filed against him throughout his 30 years of public service. The Marina The proposed “full-service, environmentally considerate marina complex” will also have a Customs and Border Protection office, fuel, waste disposal services, restaurants, bars and a local market, and it will serve “mega yachts, mono & sail cats, cruisers, sport fishers & more,” according to the project website. The project would be funded “with a total private investment” of $130 million, according to written testimony Summers submitted to the U.S. Virgin Islands Legislature in 2025. Summer’s End Group, the developer, is “a coalescence of generational St. Johnian families” that includes Summers, Barksdale and local residents, business owners and landowners as well as investors from South Florida and Louisiana, according to the testimony. Summers told Virgin Islands lawmakers that St. John has no boat slips despite residents wanting a marina for more than 40 years. “We are here to change that,” she said. “We are here to capture the economic activity for the recreational boating industry that St. John has missed out on for far too long.” Summers said that Graves “has a long-standing record of helping constituents and others navigate delayed Army Corps matters and pressing the agency to make decisions.” “This project had been waiting roughly 10 years for a decision, and Congressman Graves helped press the Army Corps to act,” she said.