Bryan Says Land Swap Agreement Between Government And DOI Finalized

By KIT MACAVOY | Virgin Islands Daily News |

A land exchange between the Virgin Islands government and the U.S. Interior Department has been finalized, Gov. Albert Bryan Jr. announced Monday.

The trade of Whistling Cay to the National Park Service in exchange for a portion of an Estate Catherineberg parcel paves the way for a new PreK-12th grade school for St. John students. The Federal Emergency Management Agency has committed $133 million toward construction of the school, which will also serve as a hurricane shelter for the island.

Lawmakers initially approved the controversial land swap in September after months of discussion and debate. Bryan signed the exchange into law in October.

But negotiations between the local and federal governments appeared to hit a snag over language related to the public’s access to the waters around Whistling Cay, known as Fungi Passage. During a November session, At-Large Sen. Angel Bolques Jr. introduced an amendment to Act 8741 — which authorized the exchange — reigniting debate amongst lawmakers.

Under the amendment, a section of the Act stating that the Virgin Islands government could exchange the land so long as the trade did not interfere with or restrict the public’s access to Fungi Passage for recreational or commercial purposes was changed to state that the public’s use and access of the waterway be consistent with the National Park Services Organic Act 54, U.S. Code, section 100101, and all applicable federal laws.

The amendment failed to pass during that session but was reintroduced in December, when it ultimately passed.