Virgin Islands National Park is actively working to transition Caneel Bay Resort to National Park Service (NPS) management, following a U.S. District Court ruling affirming the United States’ ownership of the land and ordering EHI Acquisitions, LLC to convey and transfer title of the improvements immediately.
The Caneel Bay Resort Area remains closed to the public due to hazardous conditions. Virgin Islands National Park, with assistance from NPS’s Eastern Incident Management Team, is working to provide public access using a phased approach as outlined in the selected alternative from the Caneel Bay Redevelopment and Management Environmental Assessment. Priority will be given to safely allowing public beach access in the area, while continuing with condition assessments of facilities and infrastructure.
“We thank our neighbors and visitors for their patience as we work towards re-establishing visitor services at Caneel Bay,” said Virgin Islands Superintendent Penny Del Bene. “Our goal is to invite Virgin Islanders and visitors back to Caneel Bay as soon as safely possible. The full reopening of the Caneel Bay Resort will take time, and we ask for your continued understanding.”
National Park Service staff from across the country started arriving in the area last week to support the transition process. There is no timetable for public opening at this time. Updates, along with the Park Service development plans can be found at go.nps.gov/caneelbay.
CERCLA Environmental Cleanup Continues
Under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), the National Park Service has completed the first phase of environmental cleanup at the Caneel Bay Resort. Crews removed 317 cubic yards of nonfriable asbestos-containing material (ACM) debris that was transported to a permitted Florida landfill for disposal.
The initial environmental cleanup phase at Caneel Bay began in January and focused on removing ACM debris from 2017 Hurricanes Irma and Maria. Park Service and its contractors removed debris from three areas near Little Hawksnest, Scott Beach, and Turtle Point. The work only involved asbestos-containing hurricane debris no longer attached to buildings and did not include demolition. The Park Service used two contractors to remove the ACM and perform daily air quality monitoring, while ensuring proper ACM-handling procedures were followed.
The NPS expects to provide updates about remaining CERCLA removal actions in the coming weeks. Current information about the NPS environmental cleanup efforts at Caneel Bay will be available at the park’s website.
