The following are the agenda items from the Commission's regular meeting held
February 26, 2008 at Commission
headquarters. The Commission's actions are in bold.
** APPROVAL OF AGENDA.
1. MINUTES of previous meeting. Approved as amended by a vote of 8-0-1. Associate Member Carter Fox abstained.
[ Audio Item 1 ]
2. PERMITS (Projects over $50,000 with no objections and with staff recommendation for approval).
Approved unanimously (9-0).
[ Audio Item 2 ]
3. CONSENT AGENDA ITEMS. None to consider.
[ Audio Item 3 ]
4. CLOSED MEETING FOR CONSULTATION WITH OR BRIEFING BY COUNSEL. No need for closed meeting, so one wasn't held.
[ Audio Item 4 ]
5. CITY OF HAMPTON, #06-1356, requests authorization to construct a 16-foot wide by 709-foot long commercial fishing pier with a 70-foot by 26-foot T-head platform adjacent to the City of Hampton's property situated along the Chesapeake Bay in Hampton.
Unanimously approved as proposed (9-0).
[ Audio Item 5 and 6 ]
6. CITY OF HAMPTON, #06-1355, requests authorization to construct a 30-foot by 100-foot trestle with 2 associated 4-foot by 16-foot ramps for use during construction of the proposed Buckroe Beach Fishing Pier adjacent to the City of Hampton's property situated along the Chesapeake Bay in Hampton.
Unanimously approved as proposed (9-0).
[ Audio Item 5 and 6 ]
7. VIRGINIA NATURAL GAS, #07-1036, request authorization to install, by the directional drill method, 80 linear feet of natural gas pipeline beneath Newmarket Creek in Hampton and 1,064 linear feet beneath Salter's Creek in Newport News and install, by the directional drill and jetting methods, 21,470 linear feet of pipeline beneath Hampton Roads in Newport News and Portsmouth with four tie-ins resulting in displacement of 211,274 cubic yards of sediment.
Continued until the March 2008 meeting at the request of the applicant's counsel.
[ Audio Item 7 ]
8. DOUGLAS BURDETT, #07-2375, requests authorization to construct a 10-foot by 10-foot open-sided gazebo onto the L-head platform of a proposed private, non-commercial pier, adjacent to his property situated along the Lafayette River in the City of Norfolk. The project is protested by an adjacent property owner.
Unanimously approved as proposed (9-0).
[ Audio Item 8 ]
9. WILMIK-ZIMMERMAN HOMES, LLC, #07-2125, requests authorization to construct an 80-foot long open-pile marginal wharf a maximum of 20 feet channelward of mean high water with a 10-foot wide octagonal gazebo structure on the wharf adjacent to their community pier associated with the Hawthorn Green subdivision situated along the Northeast Branch of Sarah Creek in Gloucester County. The project is protested by two nearby property owners.
Unanimously approved as proposed (9-0).
[ Audio Item 9 ]
10. UPDATE: CITY OF NEWPORT NEWS, #93-0902. King William Reservoir Project, Mattaponi River raw water intake, Pre-Operational Ichthyoplankton Monitoring Program, pilot study (study years 1 and 2) results and extended study (years 3 through 8) plans.
Update provided by staff. No Commission action required.
[ Audio Item 10 ]
11. PUBLIC COMMENTS: Ellis James (Norfolk) spoke regarding a proposed marina on Back Bay in the Sandbridge section of Virginia Beach in light of a recent newspaper article indicating the Norfolk District of the Corps of Engineers had expressed a preliminary decision to approve the project. The project is protested and will ultimately be brought before the Commission for consideration. He strenuously objects to the project.
[ Audio Item 11 ]
12. PUBLIC HEARING: Consideration of multiple proposals to eliminate overfishing in the blue crab fisheries. The proposed measures pertain to cull rings, season limits, minimum size limits, peeler crabs, the blue crab sanctuary, the winter dredge fishery and the use of agents.
Unanimously approved increasing the minimum size of legal peeler crabs, requiring all cull rings to be open, capped the winter dredge fishery effort at current levels, and reduced the use of agents in the fishery. Also, long-term crab harvest control measures were advertised for public comment and a vote in the commission's April meeting, including widening required cull rings, cutting the number of crab pots by up to 30 percent, reducing the number of permitted recreational crab pots and closure or curtailment of the winter dredge fishery.
[ Audio Item 12 ]
13. PUBLIC HEARING: Proposed amendments to Regulation 4VAC20-751, "Pertaining to the Setting and Mesh Size of Gill Nets", to establish restrictions on the use of gill nets on the ocean side of the Eastern Shore.
Approved unanimously as recommended by staff.
[ Audio Item 13 ]
14. PUBLIC HEARING: Proposed amendments to Regulation 4VAC20-620, "Pertaining to Summer Flounder", to establish the 2008 recreational fishery measures.
Unanimously approved Option 5, a 19-inch size limit with a five-fish possession limit, and a mid-season closure from July 21-30.
[ Audio Item 14 ]
15. PUBLIC HEARING: Proposed amendments to Regulation 4VAC20-950, "Pertaining to Black Sea Bass", to establish the 2008 commercial fishery measures.
Approved unanimously per staff recommendation to set the harvest quota for 2008.
[ Audio Item 15 ]
16. OYSTER RESTORATION: Approval of the 2008 restoration program and procurement procedures.
The Commission approved the procurement procedures, as recommended by staff. They also approved the 2008 Oyster Replenishment Plan, which was designed in keeping with the Blue Ribbon Oyster Panel
(BROP) recommendations.
[ Audio Item 16 ]
17. CASES CONCERNING FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH THE HARVEST QUOTA PROVISIONS OF THE STRIPED BASS REGULATION.
No cases were heard.
[ Audio Item 17 ]
18. VIRGINIA SEAFOOD COUNCIL: Request for public hearing to consider their 2008 proposal for the study of Crassostrea ariakensis in Virginia waters.
Unanimously approved a March public hearing for a 2008 overboard experiment with the so-called Asian oyster.
[ Audio Item 18 ]
All these so-called Page 2 items were not protested and approved unanimously in a bloc vote:
2A. TRANSCONTINENTAL GAS PIPELINE CORPORATION, #07-1000, requests authorization to repair or replace, as needed, natural gas transmission pipeline segments from the bank of the Potomac River in Fairfax County to Mainline Valve 180 B10 in Fauquier County at multiple stream crossings in Fairfax, Fauquier, and Prince William Counties. Stream crossings may include Potomac River, Cub Run, and Bull Run in Fairfax County; Dawkins Branch, Broad Run, and Kettle Run in Prince William County; and Cedar Run in Fauquier County. Staff recommends a permit condition stating that the permittee agrees to notify the Commission of any line replacements, at which time a royalty at the rate of $3.00 per linear foot for the encroachment over State-owned subaqueous bottom would be assessed.
2B. TOLL BROTHERS, INC., #07-2643, requests authorization to install 40 linear feet of sanitary sewer line beneath Broad Run near the intersection of Route 606 and Route 744 in Loudoun County. Staff recommends a royalty of $120.00 for the encroachment under 40 linear feet of State-owned subaqueous bottom at a rate of $3.00 per linear foot.
2C. GASLIGHT LANDINGS LLC, #05-1221, requests authorization to modify existing dock configuration by the addition of 12 mooring piles, associated with the Gaslight Landing project adjacent to property at 207 Mill Street, situated along Occoquan River in Prince William County.
2D. OCCOQUAN HARBOUR MARINA, #07-2591, requests authorization to rearrange the existing marina configuration by removing two (2) piers (E and F) and to construct a 8-foot wide open pile floating commercial pier extending 250-foot channelward of mean low water, and a 8-foot by 103-foot T-head platform, five (5) 4-foot by 45-foot and five (5) 4-foot by 50-foot finger piers, and 15 mooring piles, resulting in a reduction of wet slips from 216 to 160, adjacent to their property at Occoquan Harbour Marina, situated along Occoquan River in Prince William County. Staff recommends a royalty of $5,150.00 for the encroachment over 5,150 square feet of State-owned subaqueous bottom at a rate of $1.00 per square foot.
2E. STAFFORD COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF UTILITIES, #07-1175, requests authorization to replace and upgrade an existing county waterline crossing approximately 30 linear feet of Aquia Creek in Stafford County.
2F. CITY OF BRISTOL, #08-0003, requests authorization to construct an 82' long by 84' wide clearspan replacement bridge across Beaver Creek to facilitate the widening of Lee Highway in Washington County.
2G. CITY OF NORFOLK, #06-2365, requests authorization to dredge approximately 1.7 million cubic yards of beach quality sand from within a portion of the auxiliary channel of the Thimble Shoal Federal Navigation Channel, immediately east of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel, for the purpose of selective beach nourishment, on an as-needed basis, along approximately 7.2 miles of the City's beaches situated along the Chesapeake Bay from the Little Creek entrance channel westward to the terminus of Willoughby Spit in the City of Norfolk. The project will also include the extension of 12 existing storm water outfalls, as needed, to accommodate the increased beach width.
2H. DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY, #07-1589, requests authorization to replace 4,622 linear feet of bulkhead landward of or within the same alignment of an existing bulkhead, adjacent to the SP Area aircraft parking apron at Naval Station Norfolk situated along Willoughby Bay and Mason Creek in the City of Norfolk.
2I. WESTERN VIRGINIA WATER AUTHORITY, #07-2053, requests authorization to install a 12-inch diameter waterline, crossing Back and Magodee Creeks by directional bore method beneath each creek or by attaching the waterline to existing bridges along U.S. Route 220 at each crossing location in Roanoke and Franklin Counties.
2J. CITY OF NORFOLK, #07-2517, requests authorization to replace and stabilize, through the installation of concrete pilings and support beams, the brick fa�ade of the existing Armed Forces Memorial at Town Point Park, situated along the Elizabeth River in the City of Norfolk.
2K. NAVAL FACILITIES ENGINEERING COMMAND, #07-2540, requests authorization to construct a 145-foot, 8-inch wide concrete launch ramp tapering to 99 feet, 11 inches wide, extending 167 feet channelward of mean low water, adjacent to Naval Station Norfolk, situated along Willoughby Bay in the City of Norfolk.
2L. NORFOLK DREDGING COMPANY, #07-2426, requests authorization to construct 861 linear feet of steel sheet-pile replacement bulkhead a maximum of two (2) feet channelward of an existing, deteriorated bulkhead and mean low water, with associated backfill, and install four (4) 7-pile cluster mooring dolphins adjacent to their commercial property at the confluence of New Mill Creek and the Southern Branch of the Elizabeth River at 1500 Shipyard Road in Chesapeake. Recommend approval with the assessment of a royalty in the amount of $5,166.00 for the filling of 1,722 square feet of State-owned subaqueous bottom at a rate of $3.00 for square foot, and $176.00 for the encroachment of the dolphins over 88 square feet at a rate of $2.00 per square foot for a total royalty in the amount of $5,342.00.
2M. TOWN OF CHINCOTEAGUE, #07-0265, requests authorization to construct a
225-foot long by 6-foot wide pier which includes a 16-foot by 10-foot L-head and a
225-foot long breakwater under the proposed pier; extend an existing pier to 450 linear feet and install under the proposed pier a 450-foot long breakwater; construct and backfill 30 linear feet of bulkhead; to dredge approximately 121 cubic yards of state owned subaqueous material to provide maximum dredge depths of minus four (-4) feet at mean low water; and install one (1) day marker at the entrance to Curtis Merritt Harbor in the Town of Chincoteague, Accomack County.
2N. TOWN OF SAXIS, #07-2647, requests authorization to extend their existing public fishing pier an additional 200 feet into Pocomoke Sound. The new proposal also includes a 100-foot long by 10-foot wide T-head.
