U.S. Court of Appeals upholds Port of Houston’s Bayport terminal permit

U.S. Court of Appeals upholds Port of Houston’s Bayport terminal permit    A federal appeals court panel ruled Wednesday that a permit filed by the Port of Houston and the Army Corps of Engineers to build a massive container and cruise terminal was valid, affirming a lower court decision on the matter.
   It means construction can resume on the first phase of the terminal, which could eventually grow to 1,043 acres, with seven containership berths, an intermodal rail yard, and an industrial development area.
   The terminal is being built to accommodate growing trade arriving via the Gulf of Mexico, with Houston's key Barbours Cut container terminal limited by space constraints.
   The Bayport terminal project has come under fire from some community groups and local municipalities who contend that the Corps’ improperly delineated wetlands to be preserved, among other allegations. In exchange for building the terminal, the port said it has designed the terminal to minimize the effects of construction on the surrounding area, and has preserved approximately 1,100 acres of land for environmental mitigation.
   Officials at the port also say Bayport will fuel the creation of thousands of new jobs and will add hundreds of millions of dollars to the region’s economy.
   In January 2004, the Port of Houston Authority and the Corps granted the federal permit for construction of the Bayport project, marking a critical step in the process to build the $1.2 billion terminal. Construction of Phase 1A — including 1,660 feet of the ultimate 7,000-foot wharf and approximately 65 acres of the ultimate 1,043 acre facility — began in June 2004 and is targeted for completion in summer 2006. Additional phases are planned to be built incrementally on an as-needed basis.