King William Reservoir (VA)
Conservation community scores major victory in thwarting plans for massive reservoir
State officials have rejected a request from Newport News to extend by five years a water withdrawal permit for the King William reservoir, effectively opening the project to further scrutiny by regulators and the public. The current permit expires at the end of 2007, forcing Newport News to reapply and address a number of outstanding questions about the controversial proposal.
The decision is a major victory for reservoir foes who have worked for more than a decade to protect the unique resources of the Mattaponi and Pamunkey rivers in coastal Virginia.
The Southern Environmental Law Center has played a central role in fighting to stop the massive impoundment in King William County. Most recently, we filed suit in federal court against the Army Corps of Engineers in July, 2006. Our lawsuit cites violations by the Corps of the Clean Water Act, the National Environmental Policy Act, and the Chesapeake 2000 Agreement when it granted a permit in November, 2005 to Newport News and five other localities to build a dam and 1,500-acre reservoir. We filed the complaint on behalf of the Virginia Chapter of the Sierra Club, Alliance to Save the Mattaponi and Chesapeake Bay Foundation.
©Dwight Dyke
The Mattaponi River (shown here) and Pamunkey River watersheds would be altered forever by the massive impoundment in King William County.
The project will destroy more than 400 acres of wetlands, the largest authorized wetlands loss in the entire mid-Atlantic region in the 30-year history of the Clean Water Act. It will also destroy 21 miles of free-flowing streams, and harm the economy and heritage of Native American tribes residing in the Mattaponi and Pamunkey river watersheds.
Moreover, this damaging project isn't even needed. Numerous independent studies approved by the Corps's staff show that the projected water need for the region to be served is less than half the amount Newport News claims to justify the project. In fact, a review by a private consultant in the fall of 2005 showed that regional demand has remained relatively flat since 1990. Reasonable alternatives such as desalinization, water reuse and conservation exist to meet the region's true projected demand.
In addition to basing its permit approval on exaggerated water needs, the Corps also approved a deficient wetlands mitigation plan that fails to meet the government's "no net loss" policy for wetlands. Newport News's plans for building artificial wetlands at multiple and scattered sites, some many miles from the site of the lost wetlands, cannot replace the 'function and value' of the intact ecosystem that would be destroyed.
SELC is asking the court to compel the Corps of Engineers to conduct a new Environmental Impact Statement to take into account the numerous changes to the project since the first study was done in 1997.
