Bayview marina project on hold

A controversial marina project in Bayview is on hold after two state agencies objected to developer Bob Holland’s plans to begin work next week.

The Idaho Department of Lands threatened legal action this week if Waterford Park Homes LLC proceeded with plans to build a marina over damaged kokanee spawning beds.

Despite a cease-and-desist order prohibiting work at Harborview Marina, Waterford Park Homes LLC sent a letter to the state agency June 19 saying work would commence July 1.

But Waterford general operations manager Tina Arendt said Wednesday that the developer will not do anything without approval from the Department of Lands, Fish and Game and the Army Corps of Engineers.

In the June 19 letter, Waterford attorney Steve Wetzel cited a provision allowing for the one-time replacement of docks – saying the cease-and-desist order wouldn’t apply to such work and that permits wouldn’t be needed.

That provision only applies to projects “in good standing, not an encroachment that has been cited for violations of the Lake Protection Act,” Idaho Department of Lands Director George Bacon said in a June 25 response to developer Bob Holland.

Bacon said the cease-and-desist order would stay in place until Holland provided an acceptable plan for restoring kokanee spawning beds damaged by his company and until mitigation was complete.

The Idaho Department of Fish and Game also objects to Holland’s plans. Regional supervisor Chip Corsi sent a letter to the Department of Lands saying Waterford had promised a restoration plan would be submitted more than a week ago.

“We have yet to see one,” Corsi wrote, “let alone a plan that explains how restoration can be accomplished with a fully intact and/or operational marina in place.”

Project engineer Dennis Scott said Waterford is finalizing a draft proposal for restoration of the spawning beds.

“The agencies are pretty much in agreement that before they approve any new construction to take place, they want to see the plan,” Scott said Wednesday.

In his letter, Corsi described Holland’s track record in Bayview as problematic and harmful to the environment.

Holland has been fined $2,500 for the destruction of the kokanee beds, which has been described as one of Lake Pend Oreille’s last healthy spawning beds for the fish. The damage was caused by crews illegally pounding steel pilings through the spawning bed at Harborview Marina in April.

With the exception of a new dock walkway to float homes in the marina, Waterford was ordered to do no further work on the project.

The Department of Lands wants the spawning beds to be restored before the fall spawning season.