Dept. of Commerce and Vought Aircraft Industries announce the completion of the Ashley-Cooper Rivers environmental trust

The South Carolina Department of Commerce and Vought Aircraft Industries today announced that the Ashley-Cooper Rivers Environmental Trust (ACRET) has completed the successful protection of six tracts of wetlands in the Charleston area. The completion of ACRET’s work means that today 7,511 acres, of which 4,000 are endangered wetlands, will be protected and become a permanent part of the state’s conservation heritage.

In 2005, ACRET was established as a result of a creative approach to wetlands mitigation and preservation that involves direct funding for off-site mitigation with the opportunity for nonprofit organizations to obtain matching grants for the purpose of acquiring title to property or conservation easements to wetland tracts in the Charleston area. The goal of the trust was to protect environmentally significant endangered habitats and combat sprawling development or add to existing endangered habitat and provide additional buffering to significant natural areas.

ACRET was established to distribute $4.75 million of Commerce grant funding, as mitigation for the protection of wetlands to offset impacts at the Vought Aircraft Industries Inc. and Global Aeronautica plant sites, now owned by the Boeing Company, near the Charleston International Airport.

“Today’s news underscores our administration’s commitment to preserving quality of life and maintaining what makes our state so unique. Indeed, the preservation of more than 7,500 acres is a positive step forward in further advancing this commitment so that our children and grandchildren can enjoy the South Carolina that we recognize today for many years to come. As well, it should be noted that this unique mitigation effort played a significant role in the quick advancement of the Boeing project last fall because permits were put in place when establishing the initial Vought and Global Aeronautica facilities,” said Gov. Mark Sanford. “I’d offer thanks to Elmer Doty and his team at Vought Aircraft Industries for their continued support of South Carolina and also to the Coastal Conservation League and Audubon for their assistance in making the Ashley-Cooper Rivers Environmental Trust a success.”

When establishing its presence in North Charleston, Vought recognized the need to adapt a different progressive approach to wetlands mitigation. As a result, ACRET was formed, engaging traditional environmental interests, elements of the state government, state and federal regulatory interests, the industrial community and other parties in the Lowcountry.

Vought’s economic development project and the environmental trust project that emerged from the efforts of the ACRET Board resulted in protection of lands/wetlands at Audubon’s Beidler Forest Wildlife Sanctuary and in the Ashley River Historic District. Six grants were made to Audubon and Ducks Unlimited that expanded existing preserves and created new preserves. Today, the state’s original trust investment of approximately $4.75 million yielded leveraged investments exceeding $9.6 million and easement donations of an additional value estimated at $18.1 million.

The Coastal Conservation League, based in Charleston, played an instrumental role facilitating the project. League Water Quality Director Nancy Vinson, who also served as ACRET Secretary, said, “I’m so delighted that we are able to wrap up this win-win project for Vought and others. Many people at Vought and the Department of Commerce deserve credit, and we owe John Hodge, an attorney with Haynsworth Sinkler Boyd, who assisted Commerce and Vought, credit for creating this leveraged wetlands mitigation project. These types of partnerships should be used more often because they promote resource protection and economic development hand in hand, with huge gains to each. The Coastal Conservation League is proud to have assisted in this successful endeavor.”

Norm Brunswig of Audubon South Carolina also commented, “The Vought mitigation project, managed by ACRET, provided critical funding which allowed Audubon to protect hundreds of acres of vital forested wetlands and bordering uplands in Four Holes Swamp. These important conservation actions dramatically advanced our goal of creating a huge, intact forested wetland reserve in Four Holes Swamp and its tributaries.”

Vought’s wetlands permit anticipated that additional aircraft manufacturing and assembly would occur at the Vought and Global Aeronautica facility; thus making it easier for Boeing to locate in Charleston. Due to the work of ACRET, the timeline to construct Boeing’s aircraft assembly plant has been shortened.

About the Ashley-Cooper Rivers Environmental Trust
Vought Aircraft Industries Inc. and the State of South Carolina undertook the development of a trust that could provide funding opportunities, through a competitive process, to land conservation groups in exchange for achieving stated higher non-traditional results. This process works much like the State Conservation Bank, allowing matching dollars and/or land donations to compete for this source of funds therefore maximizing the land/wetlands protection and multiplying the purchasing power of the funds.

ACRET was created to hold and distribute the money in a competitive grants process to ensure the most deserving projects would be funded and the wetlands permitting requirements would be fulfilled. Procedures and criteria were developed seeking proposals for the funds, reviewing the proposals, awarding the grants, and ensuring that the proposals were acceptable to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the S.C. Dept. of Health and Environmental Control.