SEARCH SITE
VIRGINIA LAW PORTAL
- Code of Virginia
- Virginia Administrative Code
- Constitution of Virginia
- Charters
- Authorities
- Compacts
- Uncodified Acts
- RIS Users (account required)
SEARCHABLE DATABASES
- Bills & Resolutions
session legislation - Bill Summaries
session summaries - Reports to the General Assembly
House and Senate documents - Legislative Liaisons
State agency contacts
ACROSS SESSIONS
- Subject Index: Since 1995
- Bills & Resolutions: Since 1994
- Summaries: Since 1994
Developed and maintained by the Division of Legislative Automated Systems.
2009 SESSION
090692584WHEREAS, the Craney Island Eastward Expansion Project (the "Project") was authorized by the Congress of the United States in the Water Resources Development Act of 2007, which included a federal cost share of 50 percent of the cost of the construction of the dikes and levies totaled at $712 million; and
WHEREAS, the Project will create another 600-acre "cell" on the eastern side of the existing Craney Island Dredge Management Site to accommodate additional dredge material, creating increased capacity for the placement of dredge material and a new marine terminal for the Virginia Port Authority; and
WHEREAS, the Project has an approved Environmental Impact Statement; and
WHEREAS, the Joint Permit Application has been submitted to the Department of Environmental Quality and the Virginia Marine Resources Commission by the Virginia Port Authority and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Norfolk District Office; and
WHEREAS, the Project is currently in the design phase, which is expected to be completed in the spring of 2009; and
WHEREAS, the Project will take two years to build the dikes and levies, two years to fill, and four years to construct the marine terminal; and
WHEREAS, the marine terminal portion of the project will be constructed in phases as needed to accommodate the growth in international trade moving through the Port of Virginia, with the first phase expected to be needed and completed in 2017, and the subsequent phases to be added when growth demand requires additional capacity; and
WHEREAS, the Project has an environmental mitigation plan that includes sediment remediation, wetlands restoration, and oyster reef development with a capital expense of $50 million; and
WHEREAS, the Project will incorporate the most modern technology in the new marine terminals to increase the throughput capacity of the facility; and
WHEREAS, the Project, once completed, will have the ability to increase the capacity of the Port of Virginia by 100 percent, creating the ability to handle 10 million TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units) and providing the Port of Virginia the potential to become the dominant port on the East Coast; and
WHEREAS, keeping this project on time and on schedule is critical for the Port of Virginia to be able to accommodate the growth in international trade—the completion of the Heartland Corridor in 2010 will provide greater double-stack rail access to the Midwest and the expansion of the Panama Canal in 2015 will allow larger ships with greater cargo capacity to move through the canal from Asia to the East Coast of the United States; and
WHEREAS, the Port of Virginia with its 50-foot channels allows the larger ships to call at the port when they begin to make direct vessel calls to the United States; and
WHEREAS, at the completion of the Craney Island Eastward Expansion it will generate 54,000 jobs throughout the Commonwealth; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, the Senate concurring, That the Congress of the United States be urged to appropriate its share of funds to construct the Craney Island Eastward Expansion Project. The Virginia General Assembly fully supports and encourages every effort at the local, state, and federal levels to expedite the ultimate completion of the Craney Island Eastward Expansion Project as soon as possible and every effort to expedite the construction of the dikes and levies for this project.
RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates transmit copies of this resolution to the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, the President of the United States Senate, and the members of the Virginia Congressional Delegation so that they may be apprised of the sense of the General Assembly of Virginia in this matter.