As of Monday, the city of Cape Coral can move forward with the removal of the Chiquita Boat Lock, as it received an Environmental Resource Permit for the South Spreader Waterway Enhancement Project from the Florida Department of Environment Protection.

Councilmember Dan Sheppard said it’s a big win and very exciting.

“It was an equivalent of having a chain link fence in your backyard with a waterproof gate,” he said of the lock. “That was the equivalent of what it basically did. It really didn’t serve a purpose.”

The removal of the water control device will raise the values of all the homes around the lock, as well as keep manatees and dolphins from being killed and boaters from getting injured, Sheppard said.

The permit both grants permission and imposes conditions.

“The permittee is authorized to improve the South Spreader Waterway by employing several projects to improve water quality. The permittee is authorized to remove the Chiquita Boat Lock and associated uplands, and to install a 165-linear foot seawall along the north end of the South Spreader waterbody. The applicant also seeks to plant over 3,000 mangrove seedlings along the Waterway, as well as to install oyster reef balls in the area where the lock is removed,” language from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection states.

The permit further states that projects have been proposed to “improve the water quality in the Spreader waterbody and receiving waters.”

Those include replacement of stormwater catch basins that drain to the waterway; improvement of the stormwater management system associated with Rotary Park dog park; contributions to the endangered smalltooth sawfish study; aquatic vegetation removal program implementation as well as planting of the mangrove seedlings along the waterway and the installation of oyster reef balls around the installation of the seawall.

In addition, an interlocal agreement has been negotiated with the city of Fort Myers for the city of Cape Coral to purchase and dispose of reclaimed water that is generated by Fort Myers – the Connect Project. There will also be a detailed public education program to touch upon endangered species, boater safety and water quality protection.

Cape Coral resident Dennis Costello lives within walking distance of the lock. He supports its removal.

“The lock has killed/crushed eight manatees in the time I have lived here,” Costello said.

With the removal of the lock, there will no longer be a device that kills manatees in Cape Coral, he said, adding he he did not support the effort to retain the structure by those who said local waters would be polluted if the decades-old device was removed.

“The petition to oppose the removal of the lock was a frivolous action. The judge in her recommended order said the petitioner’s experts offered no credible evidence of harm to the environment, nor did they do any analysis regarding removal of the lock,” Costello said. “This has cost the taxpayers of Cape Coral a significant sum of money to defend. The petitioners and their qualified representative should repay the attorney cost and fees to the city.”

According to a release from the city, staff has already taken immediate steps to secure necessary permits from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to advance the lock removal project. The city has also been in contact with the lock’s removal contractor to ensure there is no delay with the project’s progress.

In June of this year, an Administrative Law Judge issued a recommended order authorizing FDEP to grant the ERP to the city, which came after a multi-week evidentiary hearing that concluded on Dec. 20, 2023.

A crucial step in the permitting process was the final administrative hearing with the administrative law judge, as it ordered the city and FDEP to submit their proposed recommended orders by April 29, 2024. The judge determined that the city’s environmental resource permit application met the standards necessary under the Florida law and the Florida Administrative Code.