King William Reservoir (VA)
Army Corps of Engineers
Projects that adversely affect federally protected wetlands require a permit under the federal Clean Water Act from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (the “Corps”). In June 1999, after studying the issues relating to the proposed reservoir for many years, Colonel Allan B. Carroll, then district engineer for the Corps’ Norfolk District, announced his intent to deny the permit for the King William Reservoir. The Corps concurrently released results of a study showing that the region to be served by the project would need about 17 million gallons of water a day by 2040, not the 39 million gallons that Newport News stated.
Two years later, Colonel Carroll issued his Final Recommended Record of Decision that the permit be denied. He said the the proposed reservoir would significantly degrade waters and wetland resources and would adversely impact the Native American tribes. His decision record also established that Newport News had greatly inflated its water needs.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is on record as agreeing with the colonel's 2001 decision to deny a Clean Water Act permit to Newport News. Under Section 404 of the Act, EPA has the authority to veto a permit issued by the Corps on the grounds that the permitted project would have unacceptable adverse impacts and is not the least-damaging practicable alternative.
The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service also has concerns about the reservoir. In 2001, the agency concluded that the project would cause or contribute to significant degradation of waters of the United States including wetlands, which could be avoided by selecting other water supply options available to the applicant.
However, as a result of the objections of then-Governor James Gilmore to the colonel's recommended decision, the matter was elevated up the Corps' chain of command, to the North Atlantic Division in New York (“NAD”). In September 2002, the NAD reversed the Norfolk District in a memorandum opinion, and ordered the continued processing of the federal permit. The permit was officially issued in November 2005, the last of the three permits required for the project.
On July 17, 2006, SELC filed suit in the U.S. District Court of D.C. against the Corps for violations of the Clean Water Act, National Environmental Policy Act and the Chesapeake 2000 Agreement. The complaint was filed on behalf of the Virginia Chapter of the Sierra Club, Alliance to Save the Mattaponi, Chesapeake Bay Foundation.
