In 1994 Dutra Construction Co. began contracted work with the Port of Miami, dredging a section of the shipping channel in Biscayne Bay, a “shallow subtropical lagoon with diverse habitat including mangroves, seagrass beds, and coral reefs. Manatees, crocodiles, sea turtles, and many important fish species also share the immediate marine environment with the port.”1 This “rich marine habitat”1 was severely damaged by Dutra’s illegal dredging and destruction of “3.5 acres of seagrass outside of the permitted dredging area.”2 “in violation of county, state, and federal laws.”3 “This is the largest unauthorized sea-grass-destruction case ever investigated by DERM [Miami-Dade Department of Environmental Resources Management],” declared biologist Craig Grossenbacher, chief of DERM's coastal resources section. “At the very least there was gross negligence.”3 Grossenbacher also stated that “We now know this illegal dredging occurred between 1995 and 1997.”3 “To make matters worse, the exc...
