|
Issue:
The proposed development of a large-scale
reservoir and water distribution system presents significant
environmental impacts to local fisheries, wetland ecosystems, and
disrupts a Native American tribe.
Background:
The City of Newport News, VA is seeking
permission from governmental authorities to construct a dam and
reservoir (the King William Reservoir) on Cohoke Creek in King
William County. In order to fill the reservoir, water will be
withdrawn from the Mattaponi River and sent to the reservoir on
Cohoke Creek. The City of Newport News will then withdraw the water
from the reservoir as needed.
Cohoke Creek and the Mattaponi River provides significant
resources to Chesapeake Bay. Estimates suggest that the development
of the reservoir alone will flood approximately 400 acres of
forested wetlands-areas that are critical for wildlife habitat as
well as provide clean water to the Bay. The Mattaponi River is known
for the role it plays in the recovery of the American Shad. Studies
suggest that the Mattaponi River is the most important shad spawning
ground in the state and removing water from the Mattaponi River to
fill and replenish the reservoir is expected to reduce the ability
of American Shad to survive, especially in their early life stages.
In addition to environmental effects, the proposed project will have
a cultural impact to the Mattaponi Indian Reservation-one of the
oldest tribal sovereign governments in the country. American shad
has always been at the center of the Mattaponi tribe's culture.
Presently, the project has received approval by the U.S. Army
Corps of Engineers (ACE) and the State of Virginia to permit
the construction of the dam and reservoir. However, the State
Permits are currently being contested in court. In November
2005, the ACE issued a Federal Clean Water Act permit (under
Section 404) to allow for the filling of the wetlands.
RtE Position:
At the urging of Sugar Hill recording artist Scott Miller, RtE
contacted the Alliance to
Save the Mattaponi to offer assistance. RtE had previously
submitted comments to the VMRC supporting the position of the
Alliance to Save the Mattaponi and requesting that the VMRC
deny the permit. It is our position that both the federal and
state permits are seriously deficient and warrant a reexamination
by the regulatory bodies.
WHAT CAN I DO TO HELP????
Challenge the Federal Permit
Due to the numerous deficiencies in the Federal Clean Water
Act Permit, we anticipate that the federal permit will be challenged
by a coalition of environmental groups. Join with RtE and others
in opposing the King William Reservoir by asking the ACE to
reverse its decision to grant the federal Clean Water Act permit
by writing to:
Brigadier General William T. Grisoli
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers – North Atlantic Division
Fort Hamilton Military Community, Building 302
Brooklyn, NY 11252
Please make the following points:
• The quality of the 806 acres of wetlands to be constructed
and/or enhanced will not be sufficient to replace the important
ecological value of the 400+ acres of mature, forested wetlands
to be eliminated by this project;
• The permit was issued without a final, detailed wetlands
mitigation plan and without standards as to what will qualify
as “successful restoration”;
• The frequency of the wetland monitoring plan required
by the permit (9 times over a 20 year period) is insufficient;
The Mattaponi is home to one of the largest populations of Sensitive
Joint Vetch, a federally protected threatened plant species.
The health and number of these plants is documented to be massively
inconsistent each year on the Mattaponi. Testing only 9 years
out of 20 will not provide adequate scientific data to determine
the health of this threatened species.
• The Final Detailed Mitigation Plan will not require
that replacement wetlands be in the Mattaponi River watershed;
• The stream restoration plan, which only requires monitoring
for a five-year period is insufficient to ensure the viability
of the ecosystem.
• The permit will allow for the application of chemicals
to the waterway to fight mollusks that might impede operations
without seeking a formal permit modification. The operator only
needs to modify the Operational Plan, which will not provide
the public adequate notice and opportunity to comment. This
is in violation of the federal Clean Water Act.
Challenge the State Permit!
The City of Newport News has requested to modify the Virginia
Water Protection (VWP) permit for the reservoir. Join with RtE
and others in opposing the King William Reservoir by writing
to the VWP:
Catherine Harold
Virginia Water Protection Permit Program Manager
Virginia Department of Environmental Quality
629 East Main St., 9th Floor
Richmond, VA 23219
Please make the following points:
• The VWP permit needs to be made consistent with the
permit issued by the Virginia Marine Resources Commission (VMRC).
• The State Water Control Board needs to consider and
impose performance standards relating to salinity, ecological
monitoring and wetlands mitigation.
• The Wetlands Mitigation Plan is inadequate and does
not currently contain properties that are available for mitigation.
• The State Water Control Board needs to re-assess the
viability fo the reservoir in light of the pumping hiatus and
water withdrawal restrictions imposed by the VMRC and the ACE.
Links:
- RtE-Mattaponi May 12, 2004 Comment Letter
- Rock the Earth letter of May 11, 2004 to the Virginia Marine
Resources Commission, commenting on the proposed action.
- RtE-Mattaponi Fact Sheet (PDF)
- A Mattaponi River Project Fact Sheet prepared by Rock the
Earth
- http://www.baylink.org/Mattaponi/
- Mattaponi Indian Tribe information
- http://www.savethemattaponi.org/
- Save the Mattaponi Website
- http://www.itsyourenvironment.net/alliance/indexx.html
- Alliance to Save the Mattaponi Homepage
- http://www.kwreservoir.com/
- King William Reservoir Project Homepage
- http://www.mpra.org/
- Mattaponi and Pamunkey Rivers Association Homepage
- http://www.nad.usace.army.mil/kwr/King-William-Reservoir.htm
- U.S. Army Corps of Engineers North Atlantic Division King
William Reservoir Decision
- http://www.mrc.state.va.us/
- Virginia Marine Resources Commission
| 
