COMMISSION ACTIONS JULY 2004

JULY 2004 COMMISSION ACTIONS

The following are the agenda items from the Commission's regular July meeting held Tuesday, July 27, 2004 at Commission headquarters. The Commission's action is in bold.

1. MINUTES of previous meeting. The Commission voted, 7-0-1, with Mr. Cowart abstaining because he missed the June meeting, to approve the minutes as circulated.

2. PERMITS (Projects over $50,000 with no objections and with staff recommendation for approval). The Commission voted, 8-0, to approve the permits with staff recommendations.

3. CLOSED SESSION. No session was held.

4. BAY CREEK MARINA & RESORT, LLC, #03-2501. Commission review of the June 2, 2004, decision of the Cape Charles Wetlands and Coastal Dunes Board to approve the installation of 340 linear feet and 85 linear feet of stone riprap revetments adjacent to the primary sand dune face along the Chesapeake Bay in the Town of Cape Charles. The Commission voted, 7-0-1 with Mr. Ballard abstaining, to remand the permit to the Cape Charles Wetlands and Coastal Dunes Board.

5. WILLIAM WINN, #04-0979, requests authorization to install three (3) 7-foot by 180-foot floating piers with sixty (60) 3.5-foot wide finger piers varying in length from 28 feet to 42 feet to create 75 wetslips; to construct three (3) fixed 18-foot by 18-foot deck piers for gangway attachment; install 450 linear feet of replacement bulkhead aligned up to 18-inches channelward of an existing deteriorated bulkhead; and to install 250 linear feet of soldier pile breakwater/wave screen at his marina facility situated along the James River in Prince George County. Both subaqueous and wetland permits are required. The Commission voted, 8-0, to approve the permit.

6. WALTER HODGES, #03-2515, requests authorization to dredge 1,654 cubic yards of subaqueous material to create a 170-foot long by 20-foot wide access channel and a 123-foot long by 95-foot wide boat basin with a 29-foot by 35-foot spur possessing maximum depths of minus five and a half (-5.5) feet at mean low water, and to construct a 34-foot long by 30-foot wide open-sided dual slip boathouse and a 42-foot long by 21-foot wide open-sided boathouse, and to expand the existing private open-pile pier to total 1,389 square feet adjacent to the permittee's property situated along the Western Branch of the Elizabeth River in Portsmouth. The case was continued until the Commission's Sept. 28th meeting.

7. DEPARTMENT OF CONSERVATION AND RECREATION, #04-0547, requests authorization to construct an 8-foot by 360-foot open-pile fishing pier to include a 10-foot by 63.5-foot T-head with a 10-foot by 25-foot roof over a portion of the T-head, and to install up to 40- linear feet of rip rap landward of mean high water at the York River State Park in James City County. An adjoining property owner protests the project. The Commission voted, 8-0, to approve the permit.

8. ROBERT POWELL, #03-1509, requests authorization to construct a 36-foot long by 16-foot wide open-sided boathouse adjacent to a previously authorized private pier adjacent to his property situated along Chisman Creek in York County. An adjacent property owner protests the project. The Commission voted, 8-0, to approve the permit with staff recommendations.

9. U. S. ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS, #04-1327, requests authorization to place overboard in an unconfined maneuver up to 65,000 cubic yards of dredged material, per dredge cycle, from the hydraulic maintenance dredging of the two Federal Project Channels near Tangier Island in Accomack County. The material will be deposited along the western shore of the island, south of the existing seawall. Both Subaqueous and Coastal Primary Sand Dune/Beach permits are required. The Commission voted, 8-0, to approve the permit.

10. SAMUEL SPANGLER, #04-0923, requests after-the-fact authorization to retain a 
63-foot long by 38-foot wide clear span bridge crossing over Claiborne Run, a tributary of the Rappahannock River, and permission to install a 12-inch water line beneath the bridge's pavement. The bridge spans approximately 25 feet of State-owned bottom, and will remain a minimum of 20 feet of clearance above ordinary high water. The bridge provides access into Chatham Industrial Properties, a future industrial park, and a proposed County-owned storage yard in Stafford County. The Commission in a 3-5 vote, declined to approve the permit with triple permit fees and no civil charge. Later, the Commission voted, 8-0, to approve the permit with triple fees and a civil charge of $1,200 in lieu of further enforcement action.

11. PUBLIC COMMENTS: Watermen asked the Commission to consider the extension of the clam relay season this summer. The Commission voted, 8-0 in emergency action, to extend the season by 15 workdays, beginning August 16, 2004.

12. PUBLIC HEARING: Proposed amendments to Regulation 4VAC20-320, "Pertaining to the Taking of Black Drum" to eliminate the requirement to report commercial harvests of black drum on a weekly basis and to allow for the harvest of one black drum per day by any registered commercial fisherman. The Commission voted, 8-0, for the amendment, but the one black drum will not be counted against the quota, but the information will be available through the mandatory reporting process.

13. PUBLIC HEARING: Proposed amendments to Regulation 4VAC20-270, "Pertaining to Crabbing" to establish provisions for medical hardship exemptions to the 8-hour workday requirement. The Commission voted, 5-3, to approve the staff recommendation to adjust work hours, but not the amount of hours worked per day.

14. OYSTER SEASON 2003/2004: Request for public hearing to establish next season's harvest rules. The Commission voted, 8-0, to hold a public hearing on Sept. 28th..

15. ED BENDER: Discussion of legal issues pertaining to the NMFS pound net/sea turtle rule. Mr. Bender presented a background of the National Marine Fisheries Service's involvement between its endangered species program and Virginia's pound net fishery. He asked the Commission to support the initiation of legal action against NMFS. Dan Haworth, legislative aide to State Sen. Nick D. Rerras (R-Norfolk), told the Commission that the Senator wrote the State Attorney General yesterday (July 26) asking him to study the NMFS-Virginia Pound net problem toward the possibility of a state suit against NMFS in support of the commercial fishermen in this fishery. The Commission voted, 8-0, also to write a letter to the Attorney General supporting the undertaking of such a study and a determination of whether a lawsuit against NMFS is warranted.

16. Request for Marine Improvement Funds for a Study Related to Ariakensis oyster. The Commission voted, 6-0-2 with Mr. Ballard and Mr. Cowart abstaining, to approve the use of $10,000 from the Marine Improvement Fund to conclude the Ariakensis oyster study.

17: Review of legislative action: Wilford Kale, Senior Staff Advisor, told the Commission the details of House Bill 1024 which allows the Commission to increase fees for fishing licenses and permits after July 1, 2004. There was no action on the report.

18. Review of the Virginia Saltwater Sport Fishing Tournament: Claude Bain, Director, Virginia Saltwater Sport Fishing Tournament, reviewed the tournament's activities last year and the first half of 2004. He also reported on the very successful fish- tagging program that the tournament annually sponsors with the Virginia Institute of Marine Science.


NEXT MEETING: 
8/11/04 10AM & 8/12/04 10AM (if needed),  King William Reservoir Hearing at Lafayette High School in Williamsburg 

No regular monthly Commission meeting is planned for August at this time.

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