Bay Savers urges Port St. Joe to back USACE planning study after flow-meter data on freshwater diversion

Keith Neil, president of Bay Savers, briefed the Port St. Joe City Commission on multi-year monitoring that documents freshwater diverted into St. Joe Bay and East Bay through the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway and the Gulf County Canal.

Neil described installation of flow meters in 2020 and said data confirm an average diversion of roughly 2 billion gallons per day: about 1.4 billion gallons entering St. Joe Bay and 600 million gallons entering East Bay. He said that represents roughly 9% of the Apalachicola River’s flow on average and more than 25% during low-river periods and warned of sediment and freshwater loss to the Apalachicola system and damage to oyster beds.

Bay Savers is urging Gulf County and local governments to sign a U.S. Army Corps 'planning assistance to states' (PAS or section 22) letter of intent that starts the Corps’ cost‑share process and allows the Corps to perform a PAS study. Neil said the PAS would be performed by Corps staff, is estimated to cost $300,000, and typically takes about seven quarters to complete; the Corps pays half and the local non‑federal sponsor pays the other half.

Why it matters: Neil said the study is the formal step required to quantify water-quality and related problems and to clear the way for a subsequent Corps section 216 study that would evaluate solutions. He described possible funding paths — a state legislative appropriation through the local representative, Gulf County cost share, contributions from neighboring counties, and local fundraising — and asked the commission to coordinate with county officials and consider contributing.

Commissioners asked whether Bay Savers had taken a formal position on a proposed 400‑foot floating dry dock; Neil said the organization is focused on the diversion study and had not formally taken that position. Commissioners encouraged outreach to Bay County and state representatives and asked staff to track the county letter of intent process.

What’s next: Bay Savers plans to present to Gulf County on Feb. 28 (as stated) and requested that Gulf County return a letter of intent to the U.S. Army Corps to start the federal side of the PAS funding process; the commission discussed how the city might participate in funding or coordination.