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Federal permit issued for Virgina reservoir
© Indian Country Today November 29, 2005. All Rights Reserved
Posted: November 29, 2005
by: The Associated Press


NEWPORT NEWS, Va. (AP) - The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has issued a federal permit for construction of a reservoir in King William County that has been opposed by the Mattaponi Indians and environmentalists, city officials announced Nov. 16.

This is the final permit needed to begin implementing the project to create a 12-billion-gallon reservoir to store water withdrawn from the Mattaponi River, the city said.

The city expects to complete the project in 2018, adding 20 million gallons per day to the water supply of the Peninsula. The project also reserves water for the use of King William and New Kent counties.

''I'm absolutely delighted,'' Mayor Joe S. Frank said of the permit. ''It's been a long time coming.''

Newport News officials began looking for a supplemental water supply in 1987. The estimated cost of the reservoir project is $150 million.

''We believe that we're far better off today than we have been and that we are postured to be able to move forward with this project,'' Frank said.

Eric D. Albert, an attorney for the Mattaponi tribe, said the tribe was evaluating its legal options with respect to the permit.

''Obviously, we're just as disappointed with the Corps as we were in July,'' when the commander of the Corps' North Atlantic Division announced the city should be permitted to build the reservoir, Albert said.

The Southern Environmental Law Center issued a statement Nov. 16 saying it intends to take legal action to stop the reservoir, which it says will result in the loss of 437 acres of wetlands and destroy 21 miles of free-flowing streams.

''The tragedy of this decision lies in the fact that there are viable alternatives available to Newport News to meet its future water demands,'' the statement read.

On Nov. 4, the Virginia Supreme Court upheld a state permit for construction of the reservoir, ruling that the State Water Control Board properly issued the permit. Environmentalists had contended that the board acted hastily and without adequate research.

The court also ruled, however, that a lower court must decide whether the project violates a 1677 treaty with the Mattaponi Indian tribe. The justices said the Newport News Circuit Court erred in ruling that it lacked jurisdiction to consider the alleged treaty violation by the city.

The tribe contends the reservoir would encroach on a three-mile buffer around its reservation that is protected by the treaty. It also has argued that the reservoir would flood cultural sites near the 150-acre reservation and that siphoning water from the river would damage the tribe's fishing and hunting culture.

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