GOOD NEWS: Planning underway for Lowcountry Blue Trail project

The Berkeley-Charleston-Dorchester Council of Governments (BCDCOG) was awarded a grant to partner with the Department of Interior’s National Park Service to lead the formation of a BCD Regional Blueways Coalition. This coalition of stakeholders and citizens will develop a plan to attract a variety of users to the regional waterways/blueways and related outdoor recreational opportunities. This project was supplemented by a grant from the S.C. Sea Grant Consortium to the College of Charleston for assistance with mapping, data collection and public input.

Though there are currently a variety of recreational opportunities available on parts of the region’s major waterways, little has been done to inventory and market a regional blueways system that takes advantage of the connectivity of the rivers. In an effort to gain a better understanding of the community’s knowledge and opinions concerning our local blueways, and greenways, as well as raise public awareness of the Blue Trail Project, five public meetings have been scheduled for July. Three are in Charleston County:

• James Island: 6 p.m., July 9, Edisto Hall, James Island County Park, 871 Riverland Drive.
• North Charleston: 5:30 p.m., July 14, Montague Room, North Charleston City Hall, 2500 City Hall Lane.
• Awendaw: 5 p.m., July 15, Awendaw Town Hall, 6971 Doar Road.
• Learn more: Berkeley-Charleston-Dorchester Council of Governments.

In other good news:

Harbor deepening project moves forward. The Charleston Metro Chamber of Commerce and World Trade Center Charleston applauded a decision last week by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Civil Works Review Board to approve the final integrated feasibility study report and environmental impact statement for deepening Charleston harbor to 52 feet.

“This is a great next step in keeping the deepening project on track so that Charleston’s Harbor is ready to welcome the increased traffic the East Coast will experience following the opening of the Panama Canal expansion”, said Bryan Derreberry, the Chamber’s president and CEO. “Our port system is tied to one of every 11 jobs statewide. It is the key reason for our tremendous economic growth since recruiting BMW in the early 1990s and most recently in Volvo’s decision to locate their facility in our region. Deepening Charleston’s Harbor to 52 feet helps to position our region and state to remain globally competitive for many years to come.”

Bustraan named administrator. Charleston County Council last week voted to make interim county administrator become the county’s new administrator. Bustraan has worked for the county for 28 years, since 2007 as chief deputy county administrator of finance. He is a native of upstate New York and received a master’s degree in public administration from George Washington University and a bachelor’s degree from Lafayette College.