Corpus Christi Channel Improvement Project (CCCIP)

 One project that is well under way is the Corpus Christi Channel Improvement Project (CCCIP). This involves dredging the entire channel from Corpus Christi to the Gulf from its current depth of 47 feet MLLW to 54 feet and widening it from 400 feet to 530 feet while adding 200 foot barge shelves on each side of the channel. Funded jointly by the Port and the federal government the project is slated for completion by the end of 2021. While not actively opposing this project the Port Aransas Conservancy proposes to closely monitor the environmental impacts of the project and help ensure that they are addressed and alleviated to the greatest extent possible. 

In a recent meeting with PAC and  representatives from the Coastal Alliance to Protect the Environment (CAPE) an executive from the Port of Corpus Christi indicated that the Port intends to take the most expeditious route to achieving environmental approvals. When asked if that meant relying on the 2003 EIS for the CIP project the answer was evasive--which we took for confirmation. Relying on a 15 year old EIS that doesn't cover anything like the VLCC project--which requires dredging not to 54 feet but at least 75 feet--would be a logical and legal travesty that we don't intend to let go unchallenged.