Monday, December 10, 2007 - 2:31 PM EST Court upholds St. Joe permit for Panhandle project Jacksonville Business Journal A federal appeals court has upheld a ruling that will allow The St. Joe Co. to proceed with a development in Bay and Walton counties in the Florida Panhandle. The ruling by the U.S Court of Appeals for the 11th District affirms a lower court ruling concerning a permit issued by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The permit was for a watershed approach to the Corps' environmental permitting instead of dredge and fill permits. The permit was challenged by the National Resources Defense Council and the Florida Sierra Club. The ruling will allow St. Joe to proceed with its plan for more than 48,000 acres in Walton and Bay counties, including the permanent preservation of 33,000 acres. St. Joe is developing about 15,000 acres next to the West Bay Sector, a 75,000-acre master-planned project in Bay County that will be anchored by a new Panama City-Bay County International Airport. CEO Peter S. Rummell said St. Joe's development plan was crafted in consultation with environmental groups and environmental science experts. "It is unfortunate that the NRDC did not join in the cooperative process that put environmental planning ahead of development, and instead, chose confrontational litigation," Rummell said. |