Pollution, destruction of habitat, and more sprawl could result if no action taken

In a letter sent January 5, 1999, the Chesapeake Bay Foundation asked U.S. Environmental Protection Agency administrator Carol Browner to prevent 10 projects that promise to do substantial harm to the Chesapeake Bay. While he commended the federal government’s recent announcement of a “Chesapeake Ecosystem Unified Plan” to spur federal agency efforts to restore the Bay, CBF president Will Baker noted that allowing these projects to proceed would result in the loss of far more Bay resources than the Plan hoped to restore.

High on CBF’s list of 10 Bay-Damaging Projects are the proposed King William Reservoir in Virginia and the proposed Swatara Dam in Pennsylvania, which together have the potential to destroy more than 500 acres of wetlands--the equivalent of five years worth of restoration projects committed to in the Ecosystem Plan, noted Baker. Other projects would induce suburban sprawl, increase erosion, and threaten endangered wildlife.

“Although it is important for the federal agencies to work to restore habitat and to provide information for the Bay’s restoration, it is even more important to ensure that actions on the land are not allowed to damage what remains of the Bay’s natural systems,” Baker wrote. CBF’s list of 10 Bay-Damaging Projects that should be stopped includes:

1. King William Reservoir/Mattaponi River Intake, King William County, VA
This reservoir, proposed for the City of Newport News water supply, would result in the single largest permitted loss of wetlands in Virginia history—over 400 acres.

2. Swatara Creek Dam, Lebanon and Schuylkill counties, PA
This dam would create a lake of approximately 753 acres, flooding more than 10 stream miles along the Swatara and its tributaries. It will also flood nearly 100 acres of wetlands, and hundreds of acres of diverse, undeveloped habitat.

3. Waldorf Bypass, Prince George’s and Charles Counties, MD
The bypass would damage significant forest land, wetlands, and streams (including Mattawoman Creek, one of the most pristine in Southern Maryland). Indirect impacts include increased sprawl south of Waldorf.

4. Western Bypass, Stafford, Prince William, and Loudoun Counties, VA
This highway will destroy 300 to 450 acres of wetlands and threaten the water supply from Lake Manassas and, indirectly, Occoquan Reservoir. The bypass will also impact 25 major stream crossings, and threatened and endangered species. Indirect impacts include increased sprawl.

5. Inter-County Connector, Montgomery/Prince George’s Counties, MD
Depending on the option pursued, this will create a loss of 10 to 60 acres of wetlands and flood plains, 235 to 550 acres of forest, 3 to 6 linear miles of streams, and unmeasured air quality impacts. The highway would also increase sprawl and its associated health and standard of living problems.

6. Eastern Bypass, King George, Caroline Counties, VA
This project would threaten 25 percent of the wetlands in the upper tidal Rappahannock River around Port Royal as well as 28 rare and sensitive plant and animal species. The Town of Port Royal, one of only three U.S. towns designated as National Historic Districts, will be adversely impacted. Indirect impacts include sprawl.

7. Fredericksburg Outer Connector, Spotsylvania/Stafford Counties, VA
This would be a major sprawl inducer in Spotsylvania, Stafford, Prince William, and Fauquier Counties.

8. Waterfront Development Plans, Prince William County, VA
The development would cause the loss of several hundred acres of forest, wetland, and stream habitat on Cherry Hill and adjacent peninsulas. Other impacts include innumerable stream crossings, and cut and fill on steep slopes.

9. Open Water Dumping of Dredge Spoil into the Chesapeake Bay at Site 104, MD
Dumping up to 18 million cubic yards of dredge spoil in the mainstem of the bay just north of the bay bridge, this project threatens fish (including the endangered short-nosed sturgeon), shellfish , plants, and water clarity.

10. Southeastern Public Service Authority regional landfill expansion, Suffolk, VA
Additional landfill space would result in the loss of 377 acres of wetlands.

Baker called on the administrator, as a member of the Chesapeake Executive Council and the chair of the Federal Agencies Committee of the Bay Program, to ensure that these projects are not allowed to happen. "My hope is that when we look back on the history of the Bay cleanup in five or 10 years, we can retitle this list ‘10 Bay-Damaging Projects that Never Happened,’” said Baker.

For more information: http://www.cbf.org