The Virginian-Pilot
©
Virginia Beach
The Army Corps of Engineers has approved a 76-slip marina near the Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge despite objections from environmentalists, several government agencies and the mayor's office.
In its permit, issued Friday after more than three years of debate and protest, the corps said the proposed Wilkins Mooring and Launching Facility would not pose serious risks to Back Bay or the refuge.
The agency would require the developer to use several special safeguards to ensure ecological protection.
Among them are restrictions against any new personal watercraft at the marina, a horsepower limit on boats that can operate there, and a no-wake zone within 100 yards of any part of the refuge, located on the remote, southern edge of Virginia Beach along the Atlantic Ocean.
"My clients are grateful that this extraordinarily long and thorough process has ended with a permit," Glenn Croshaw, an attorney representing developer Doug Wilkins and his partners, said Wednesday.
"Frankly, we don't feel every rule and restriction is necessary," Croshaw added, "but we understand the corps had to address the public concerns raised out there, and we respect that."
Environmentalists in the Sandbridge area of Virginia Beach, who have fought the project for years, said they were disappointed with the decision and vowed to continue their opposition.
"We're all just dumbfounded," said Cheryl Petticrew, an environmentalist who has lived in Sandbridge for 30 years.
Petticrew said opponents will contest city and state permits that still must be obtained before construction can begin.
Wilkins first applied for a corps permit in 2005 to build a marina about one-sixth of a mile from the refuge entrance, in a northern part of Back Bay. It would require some dredging to establish deep water, and would provide anchorage for 76 boats belonging exclusively to local residents.
The project was immediately criticized by environmentalists and government officials as a dangerous harbinger of commercial expansion into the rugged Sandbridge area, rich in wetlands, wildlife and privacy.
More than 350 letters and e-mails soon flooded the corps office in Norfolk, many urging that the permit be denied. Critics included the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, Defenders of Wildlife and the Back Bay Restoration Foundation.
Mayor Meyera Oberndorf sent a letter in 2005 arguing that the project, if allowed, could jeopardize millions of dollars spent on conserving Back Bay and ensuring the refuge remains a haven for migratory birds and waterfowl.
The developer halted the federal process and focused instead on winning city zoning approval. When that failed, he asked the corps to take up the permit again.
A fter much negotiation, including bargaining sessions with the Fish and Wildlife Service, the corps approved the project with multiple caveats and safeguards.
"A lot of people thought this would be vacationers coming down there, running their Jet Skis and tearing things up," said Col. Dionysios Anninos, commander of the Norfolk district of the corps. "That's not what we'd allow and not what we've permitted."
If Wilkins and the corps "live up to all the mitigations we've described, we can live with this," said Jared Brandwein, manager of the Back Bay wildlife refuge.
Brandwein and others said several key issues remain unresolved, such as enforcing the no-wake zone and restrictions on engines (75 horsepower for most boats, and 90 horsepower for flat, pontoon boats).
Anninos said he intends to call a meeting with city, state and federal officials in hopes of nailing down commitments to seal the deal.
"It's been a tough issue, given the sensitive nature of Back Bay and the proximity to the refuge," he said in an interview Wednesday. "But we think we've finally found a pretty good compromise."
Scott Harper, (757) 446-2340, scott.harper@pilotonline.com
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There is enough navigable
There is enough navigable water in Tidewater to take your jet ski and pleasure boats. Leave Back Bay alone. This is a problem that is fundamentally engrained into with the way some people perceive natural resources. It needs to stop and our children need a better example to learn from. We belong to this ecosystem - it doesn't belong to us.
www.savevbwetlands.org
MONOPOLY
So that is why it is written to have NO NEW JET SKIS!So Jim Reeves can have a monopoly at the marina .With his not so ECo friedly jet skis.I knew GREED had something to do with it.
Tell us Jim
Jim has a good ear for the political side of this. I am sure he is reading these.
Tell us about the PWC's. How exactly did you get exclusive rights? What is the horse power of the PWC's? What about the environment?
No attack is intended but perhaps you can answer these things directly?
It's not over. .
I really believe intelligence, and the knowledge of good custodianship of the land will put an end to this stupid, profit driven concept of building a 76 slip. They only watercraft that really belong in Back Bay are kayaks and paddle boats. Anything running on a motor belongs elsewhere.
Guess who?
If you read the letter from the Corps of Engineers, none other than Jim Reeves, former Virginia Beach councilman, runs the current "Eco" tourism company that rents jet skis at the facility. The letter says that only Mr. Reeves company will be allowed to operate jet skis from the marina. From my read, it does not restrict how many he may operate, just that his company is the only one allowed to.
As far as jet skiers and the no wake zones, it's been my experience that they don't know the "rules of the road" for watercraft. Especially one's that rent the jetski for the day. It's a little different if you own one and operate it frequently, but these will be rented by people with little experience, and no ties to the area.
This is a dumb idea, and somebody ought to put a stop to it.
The paper should print it
"Read the report and you'll see that the topics posted here were addressed."
Tell it to the paper.
Don't you now have to pass DEQ, VMRC, and the VB comm?
Hear that folks? There is still a way to stop this.
Thin Entering Wedge
So the story begins. The allowance for the marina is another step along the path to further degredation of the Back Bay system. Other restriction to include are: no hull coatings formulated with toxic biocides to prevent fouling as other in-water coatings exist to avoid this problem. No two-cycle engines that spew mixtures of petroleum and oils into the water with motor exhaust, only four-cycle motors will do. The developer should be required to sample marina sediments at least once per year to document the quality of sediments over the long term to ensure operations are not impacting the underlying system. Require state-of-the-art fueling and waste handling facilities. No vessel maintenance facilities ashore and no in-water maintenance activities should be allowed. In some ways, the VA Clean Marina Program is a farce and a deliberated dodge to allow marina operators to skirt other more protective permits and operational controls. Continual oversight must occur to prevent future expansions and continued demise of the Back Bay.
Oh yee of litle foresight
They get the marina approved, then later make a case for access to the ocean, then presto the marina can make money. You have to look ahead and have patience.
Not a marina
The facility is not a marina -- no maintenance, no fueling -- and is designed for pontoon boats. Also, the slips are tied to the commercial facility already on site. There won't be transient boats at the facility. No jet skis, HP restrictions on the boats, and an expanded restricted area to protect the bay. Read the report and you'll see that the topics posted here were addressed.
Wilkins Marina
It is a "marina". The official business name is "Wilkin's Marina". Local fueling, on the water, will be carried out. The pontoon boats will be "limited" to 90 hp. This will allow water speeds of up to 30 knots on a 15 to 20 foot pontoon craft. "Transient" boats will be allowed. This is the slip rental portion of the marina lease. Seasonal residents will be allowed to trailer their boats from other bodies of water, put in at Back Bay, then tie up at Wilkins. Jet skis are already in use, and there is no limitation on the number of users for the existing 12 jet skis. Each rental is a new user, who probably couldn't care less about Back Bay other than its perceived recreational givings. The so-called expanded area already exists under State and Federal guidelines. The Corps just restated the rules. By the way, there is only one officer for the entire Back Bay NWR. He works on both land and water. He will be unable to enforce the rules when he isn't there.