SD19 - The Navigation Obstructions in the Elizabeth River Derelict Structures
Executive Summary: A. Background Senate Joint Resolution No. 216, which was sponsored by Senators Earley of Chesapeake, Stallings and Holland of Virginia Beach, Joannou of Portsmouth, and Walker of Norfolk, acknowledges that the Elizabeth River is one of the Commonwealth's most valuable waterways. That value is directly attributable to its continued ability to function as a vital transportation link for waterborne commerce and to accommodate an ever increasing level of recreational use. The competitive posture and tonnage handled by Hampton Roads' port facilities, as well as the tremendous success of Norfolk's Harborfest and Portsmouth's Seawall Festivals, are but a few examples of those uses. Over the years, and as a direct result of that use, the Elizabeth River has experienced an accumulation of numerous obstacles and obstructions to navigation. Most often those obstructions take the form of abandoned vessels and barges, or deteriorated structures. If left unaddressed, those obstructions will invariably hinder the future value of the Elizabeth River and the State's ability to further develop and exploit its natural port facilities. The responsibility to protect and regulate the use or development of the State's submerged lands has been assigned to the Virginia Marine Resources Commission. This responsibility is administered through a regulatory program administered by the Habitat Management Division. The laws establishing that program date from 1962. B. Existing Programs The 1974 General Assembly enacted Section 62.1-194.1:1 entitled "Removal of obstructing or hazardous property from state waters" which empowers the Marine Resources Commission to ascertain the lawful owner of abandoned boats or materials and cause their removal. Where the lawful owner cannot be determined after a diligent search, the Marine Resources Commission is even empowered to remove the property. With the exception of one $20,000 emergency appropriation, however, funds to accomplish the latter responsibility, i.e. removal where legal responsibility could not be fixed, have never been provided. The Commission continues to regularly receive complaints of derelict boats, materials and structures that exist or have been abandoned on State-owned subaqueous bottoms. Although the current study is restricted to the Elizabeth River, the complaints and occurrences are not so constrained. Where the lawful owner can be ascertained, the program of removal is being addressed with the assistance of the Commission's Law Enforcement Division. The owner is compelled to effect removal within a specified period of time or a summons is issued. In cases where the lawful owner cannot be determined, little can be done unless a third- party is willing to assume the cost of removal. Quite often, the governing body of a political subdivision will petition the Commission by official resolution, to undertake removal of the offending obstruction. Without a dedicated or identifiable source of funding, however, the Marine Resources Commission is largely unable to respond. The United States Army Corps of Engineers, Norfolk District, Operations Branch, does maintain a drift removal program in the study area. They are charged with removing floating debris/obstructions that actually enter the navigation channels themselves, thereby posing a hazard to commercial shipping and recreational boating. In essence, theirs is a reactive program in that they remove pilings and debris that break off from the abandoned boats and structures as they deteriorate. The program makes no effort to approach the problem from a preemptive standpoint by undertaking removal of the sources of that material. Therefore, that program does not directly address the derelict structures and abandoned boats discussed herein. The Corps' program is budgeted at approximately $250,000 per year, which covers the operation of two recovery vessels and six full-time employees. Their area of operation is basically restricted to the Hampton Roads Harbor. All material retrieved from the waters is disposed at the Corps' Craney Island Disposal Facility. The City of Norfolk has also been involved in the removal of derelict vessels deposited along their municipality's shoreline. They do not have a dedicated budgetary amount allocated to the program. Instead, they rely on interdepartmental cooperation and utilization of city equipment and labor to address specific sites as they are able. The City landfill is made available for the disposal of the refuse they collect. |
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