Assume you are the planner in Wrightsville Beach.  The Coast Guard station at the south end of the Island has applied for a permit from the Army Corps of Engineers (COE) for maintenance dredging in the Intercoastal Waterway in front of the Coast Guard Station.  The Coast Guard last received a permit from the COE in 1990 to dredge the channel. In both cases, the Coast Guard argued that the project was necessary to improve navigation, which in turn advances interstate commerce while protecting public health and safety.  They also argued in their permit application that there would be negligible environmental effects.   

Several landowners adjacent to the Coast Guard station with property on the Intercoastal Waterway have opposed the permit and filed a lawsuit to block the permit.  The land owner's property is bulkheaded and their property deeds end at the bulkhead.  Historically, there was a small beach area in front of the bulkhead consisting of sand that had accreted prior to the 1990 dredging of the canal.  The landowners claim that the beach area began eroding after the canal was dredged and fear that the current proposal will eliminate the beach area entirely.  The landowners have asked the Town of Wrightsville Beach to join in the lawsuit opposing the COE permit.  

The Town Manager is concerned about this issue and is unclear on what advice to provide the Town Council.  The Town Manager has asked you to analyze the issue.  She wants to know who owns the beach area in question and on what grounds could the landowners and/or Wrightsville Beach challenge the Coast Guard permit.  Regardless of the legal issues, she is also interested in whether the town should support or oppose the dredging on policy grounds.  

This assignment should take the form of memo.  It is limited to 3 single-spaced, 12 point font pages, with 1 inch margins and must be in a standard memo format (most word processing software has templates).  The reason that a memo format is required is that it is the standard means of communication in the world of business and government.  Thus, this assignment will help develop your ability to analyze policy questions and to think, act, and communicate more effectively about environmental issues and problems.

Your memos will be evaluated based on your analysis of the problem, the organization of your ideas, your ability to properly apply the theories, concepts, and legal precedents discussed in class and the quality of your writing (e.g., spelling, grammar, punctuation, etc.).  Your goal is to write as clearly, concisely, and directly as possible.  Elegance of style, while desirable, is a secondary consideration.  Short declarative sentences often convey ideas equally well; convoluted grammar confuses things and often leads to misunderstandings.  Remember that you are trying to convey your ideas to people who have infinite demands on their time.  A simple, direct style economizes on time.