NEWPORT NEWS, VA -- The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' top local officer, Col. Allan Carroll, told Newport News officials more than a year ago he would not grant a permit for a 12.2-billion-gallon reservoir in King William County. Today, he delivered as promised, rejecting the request. "I have weighed the actual need against the direct and indirect environmental consequences of the proposed project," Carroll wrote, "and I have determined that the adverse impacts would not be justified." Concerned groups have 45 days to comment on Carroll’s decision. The matter then goes to New York, where Gen. Stephen Rhoades commands the Army corps’ North Atlantic Division. Rhoades will make the final decision on whether the reservoir is built. Normally, Carroll’s decision would have been final. But a letter Gov. Jim Gilmore wrote in June 1999 triggered an obscure Army corps regulation that bumped the final say from the Norfolk district office to the New York division office. At the time, Carroll said he opposed the reservoir because city officials had not proven they needed that much water. Without a large water shortage, he said, the reservoir didn’t justify the environmental damage its construction would cause the Mattaponi River. His written decision today mirrored those earlier concerns. It didn’t surprise city officials. Newport News officials expected the denial in December when they submitted paperwork, including an updated water study they said supported building a reservoir, to the Army corps detailing why the reservoir is needed. They filed the paperwork with an eye toward the division office in New York. "We spent the last year and a half," said Randy Hildebrandt, an assistant city manager, "dispelling rumors, defending ourselves against the opposition’s allegations and misinformation, and re-proving our facts and figures. We’re not surprised, but we are extremely disappointed." Newport News has spent more than $18 million so far pursuing permits for the reservoir. It’s expected to cost nearly $170 million. Carroll’s rejection follows a Virginia Supreme Court’s decision earlier this month to allow reservoir opponents to appeal a state permit given to Newport News and other Peninsula localities in 1997. Reservoir opponents praised Carroll’s decision. Kay Slaughter is senior attorney for the Charlottesville-based Southern Environmental Law Center, which represents four environmental groups and two landowners opposed to the reservoir. She credited Carroll for withstanding political pressure to OK the reservoir. "And the bottom line," Slaughter said, "is that if this decision is upheld by the North Atlantic Division — as we expect — the unique ecosystem of the Mattaponi River will be preserved." Fred Carroll can be reached at 247-4756 or by e-mail at fcarroll@dailypress.com |
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