Marco Island Must Scrap “Spoils Island” Plan (Mini-Islands)

Marco Island’s waters are one of our greatest assets—and they deserve real protection, not high-stakes experimentation. The city should decisively reject the dredging and “spoils island” proposal from C-HAWQ, a concept that poses regulatory challenges, environmental risks, and staggering costs. 

The Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) has already said “No” in November 2024, when C-HAWQ representatives met informally with the Agency. According to Ms. Brooke Keck, External Affairs Officer for DEP’s South District, the agency clearly stated to C-HAWQ: a) dredging may be permitted; and spoils island creation (mini-islands) would not be allowed. C-HAWQ had not disclosed this publicly during their presentation to the City Council of Marco Island. It would have been helpful to know that what C-HAWQ was proposing was not accurateand would not be approved by FDEP. 

According to FDEP, no application has been submitted since that meeting, yet the concept continues to circulate publicly. C-HAWQ also claimed a partnership with the Naples Botanical Garden—a claim that was flatly denied by Garden leadership. 

Muck is not a solution – the proposal would involve dredging canal muck, potentially toxic, and dumping it into artificial “spoils islands” (as referred to by FDEP) built within our surrounding bays. These “spoils islands” would be capped with vegetation, like mangroves, and installed on Florida’s sovereign lands. This muck is not clean fill. It has potentially contaminated sludge that could harm ecosystems and waterways for decades and topping it off with a layer of vegetation does not make it safe - just hidden. 

To support upland disposal, Marco’s Director of Public Works mentioned a site near the Fiddler’s Creek boundary. The cost of all of this will make this project unaffordable, at least three times the original cost (C-HAWQ presented a figure of $60 million). Accounting for inflation, it could rise even more,representing a quarter-of-a-billion-dollar gamble. 

We need proven infrastructure instead of pursuing risky concepts. Marco Island’s canal and waterways health should be treated with urgency and expertise. Let’s invest in Advanced Wastewater Treatment (AWT) solutions that are proven to reduce nutrient pollution and improve water quality sustainably. The people of Marco Island deserve solutions grounded in science, accountability, and transparency - not promises built on muck.