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2001 SESSION


HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 603
Expressing the sense of the General Assembly regarding any consideration that commuter toll discounts for the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel be delayed until the bi-county impact study initiated by Northampton and Accomack Counties has been completed.

Agreed to by the House of Delegates, February 6, 2001
Agreed to by the Senate, February 21, 2001

WHEREAS, during the past year there has been considerable discussion about instituting a commuter toll discount to travelers on the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel; and

WHEREAS, there is a perception by Eastern Shore residents that such growth may also likely increase the demand on public infrastructure and services, including new roads, schools, fire and emergency services, police protection and parks; and

WHEREAS, this growth will further be likely to impact the current economic structure of the Eastern Shore community and labor market; and

WHEREAS, this growth is likely to reduce farmland, open space, the natural habitat for fauna in a region that is a critical staging area for neotropical migratory songbirds, the habitat for some endangered species, the home of two National Wildlife Refuges and a state park that desire adjacent natural areas to preserve their character and attractiveness to the consumer; and

WHEREAS, the increase in population associated with this growth is likely to increase the built environment and impervious surfaces, thereby, without effective storm water management, potentially degrading water quality of the Chesapeake Bay and the Atlantic Ocean; and

WHEREAS, the growth will likely increase demand for potable water in a region that is solely reliant on limited groundwater as its source for water, a groundwater source that has been designated as a Sole Source Aquifer by the United States Environmental Protection Agency; and

WHEREAS, Northampton and Accomack Counties have started a bi-county impact study to assess the potential impact of a commuter toll on the region and to recommend strategies for addressing potential impacts; and

WHEREAS, said regional impact study is to be completed by October 1, 2001; and

WHEREAS, all interested parties will benefit from the findings of the study; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, the Senate concurring, That any consideration of commuter toll discounts for the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel be delayed until the bi-county impact study initiated by Northampton and Accomack Counties has been completed, provided that study has been completed by October 1, 2001; and, be it

RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates transmit copies of this resolution to the Chesapeake Bay Bridge and Tunnel Commission and the Commissioner of the Department of Transportation in order that they may be apprised of the sense of the General Assembly of Virginia in this matter.