Keys Treasures

This story has been growing for about a week and is getting bigger. July 27 the Key West Citizen reported the City of Key West had removed Mangroves in front of the police station. Public Utility Director David Fernandez said they were removed to stop flooding in the neighborhood and that was more important then than any environmental benefit the mangroves bring.

He and other city officials said they thought the permit, received from the SFWMD and the State DEP to conduct flood mitigation programs after Hurricane Wilma, was valid and covered the mangrove removal. However, that permit expired in January and according to the State and Federal officials, did not cover the extensive work the city did.

The two state agencies have halted all work on the project until they can determine whether the city violated the state's Mangrove Trimming and Preservation Act of 1996. Officials with the state Department of Community Affairs and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said they are researching whether the city violated its comprehensive plan and laws requiring a federal permit.

Looks like another case of let's see if we can get away with it and if we get caught claim ignorance and apologise.