COMMISSION ACTIONS DECEMBER 2004

DECEMBER 2004 COMMISSION ACTIONS

The following are the agenda items from the Commission's regular December meeting held Tuesday, December 21, 2004 at Commission headquarters. The Commission's action is in bold.

Associate members Cowart and Holland were absent.  Commissioner Pruitt introduced new Commission member Rick Robins to the Commission. In addition, he appointed Mr. Bowden as co-chair of the Finfish Management Advisory Committee, and Mr. Schick as chair of the Habitat Advisory Committee.

1. MINUTES of previous meeting. The Commission voted, 6-0, to approve the November minutes as presented.

2. PERMITS (Projects over $50,000 with no objections and with staff recommendation for approval). The Commission voted, 6-0, to approve the permits.

3. CLOSED SESSION. The Commission held an executive session with its legal counsel to discuss matters related to the recently established pound net siting regulation (4 VAC 20-25-10 et seq.). This closed session was in anticipation of later request (see Public Comment) by Mr. Edward Bender to have the Commission postpone or rescind this regulation.

4. BAY MARINE, #01-1302, continuation of a restoration hearing to consider the unauthorized construction of a 290-foot by 6-foot commercial pier with four (4) unauthorized boatlifts, the installation of a sewage discharge pipe and diffuser extending approximately 268 feet channelward of mean low water, a 5-foot by 80-foot T-head, and 18 wetslips exceeding their authorized dimensions adjacent to their marina situated along Broad Creek in Middlesex County. The Commission voted 6-0 to approve the staff recommendation for Bay Marine to make corrections that conformed to the permit.

5. REEDVILLE FISHERMAN'S MUSEUM, #00-2043, requests authorization, to modify a previously issued permit, to include the construction of a 20-foot long, by 8-foot wide floating pier section along the north (upstream) side of the Museum's pier adjacent to the Permittee's property situated along Cockrell Creek in Northumberland County. The project is protested by Mr. John W. Haynie, an adjacent property owner. The Commission voted 6-0 to allow the modification and stipulated that signage on the floating pier should advise against motor boating activity.

6. CITY OF NEWPORT NEWS, #04-2261, requests authorization to reconstruct the Hilton Pier, a 410-foot long open-pile timber municipal pier damaged by Hurricane Isabel, approximately 42 feet east-southeast (downstream) of the original pier centerline at their property situated along the James River immediately behind Hilton Elementary School in Newport News. The project is protested by several nearby property owners. The Commission voted 6-0 to approve the construction of the pier at the requested location.

7. MARTHA S. BAUER, #02-2020, requests after-the-fact authorization to retain a 10-foot long by 10-foot wide open-sided gazebo at her property situated along the Hampton River in Hampton. The Commission voted 6-0 to deny the after-the-fact authorization and required the gazebo be removed.

8. JOAN T. KARTER AND RONALD M. PONT, #2003-011S, request authorization to lease 4.46 acres of Oyster Planting Ground along Chincoteague Channel in the Town of Chincoteague, Accomack County. A Relay Plan as specified by the Commission at its December 22, 2003, meeting was not received within the required 90 days. The Commission voted 6-0 to approve this request for this lease in Accomack County.

9. PUBLIC COMMENTS:  The Commission received comments from Mr. Ed Bender who indicated the recently adopted pound net siting regulation would be costly to him, as he would need to advertise each time he wished to move a pound net. He asked for a rescission of the regulation, but the Commission took no action. The commission also received a request from Brian Peele to receive an exception for commercial black sea bass quota, and the Commission voted 6-0 to hold a public hearing in January to determine whether exceptions (other than medical) can be allowed for this fishery.

10. REQUEST FOR PUBLIC HEARING: Establish 2005 commercial bluefish quota. The Commission voted 6-0 to hold a January public hearing to establish the 2005 commercial quota.

11. REQUEST FOR PUBLIC HEARING: Establish 2005 striped bass measures including recreational and commercial quota changes, update monitoring of quota procedures, and enforcement of tag use. The Commission voted 6-0 to hold a January public hearing on amendments that would allow better quota monitoring of this fishery and better adherence to the recreational possession limit.

12. PUBLIC HEARING: Industry flounder request: The Commission voted 6-0 to approve these industry requests, for higher commercial possession limits and an earlier starting date in quarter 1 of 2005.

13. PUBLIC HEARING: License fee increases: Following a staff report, the Commissioner established a subcommittee, comprised of Associate members McLeskey and Robins, staff, and representatives of the commercial and recreational industries, to review all issues and report to the Commission.

14. REQUEST FOR PUBLIC HEARING: 2005 Scup measures. The Commission voted 6-0 to adopt an emergency regulation and to change to the amount and allowable landing time, for the Winter 1 commercial scup fishery. A January public hearing will be held.

15. REPEAT OFFENDER: The Commission voted 6-0 not to revoke the fisheries licenses of Mr. Andrew Parks, Sr. 

 

PAGE 2 ITEMS (Projects over $50,000 with no objections and with staff recommendation for approval; Approved in Item 2)

2A. NISOURCE CORPORATE SERVICES, #04-2201, requests authorization to install 21 feet of 10-inch diameter gas pipeline approximately five (5) feet beneath 15 linear feet of Mine Run and six (6) linear feet of Turkey Run, both tributaries of the Rappahannock River, within an existing pipeline easement in Spotsylvania County.

2B. COLUMBIA GAS TRANSMISSION CORPORATION, #04-1990, requests authorization to repair or replace existing gas pipeline segments along a 76.5-mile section of Line VA, possibly requiring the excavation, exposure, and replacement of the pipeline along numerous stream crossings in Greene, Madison, Culpeper, Fauquier, Prince William, and Fairfax Counties.

2C. COLUMBIA GAS TRANSMISSION CORPORATION, #04-1991, requests authorization to replace or repair existing gas pipeline segments along a 24.7-mile section of Line VB and a 14.7-mile section of Line VB-Loop, possibly requiring the excavation, exposure, and replacement of the pipeline along numerous stream crossings in Loudoun and Fairfax Counties.

2D. TOLL VIRGINIA, IV, L.P., #04-2078, requests authorization to construct a road crossing, which will include a natural bottom, 16-foot wide by 10-foot high, concrete arch (ConSpan) culvert, to include an 11-foot maximum thickness of graded fill above the culvert, along approximately 115 linear feet of an 8-14 foot wide, unnamed perennial tributary of Opequon Creek, associated with the Channing Drive - Phase 9 residential development in Frederick County.

2E. TOWN OF BLUEFIELD, #04-2054, requests authorization to remove portions of a box culvert system, construct 945 linear feet of concrete retaining walls and install approximately 585 linear feet of riprap revetment stream bank protection to restore portions of Beaver Pond Creek and Whitney Branch and reduce flooding in the Town of Bluefield. Recommend our standard instream construction conditions.

2F. WALLOPS FLIGHT FACILITY, #04-2413, requests authorization to attach four (4) 1,284-foot long power cables to the existing bridge from Wallops Island over Cat Creek and the Virginia Inside Passage in Accomack County. The conduit system will not change the height clearance under the bridge.

2G. VIRGINIA C. JACOBS, #04-0137, requests authorization to install 400 linear feet of bulkhead no greater than two feet in front of an existing deteriorated bulkhead at her commercial property adjacent to property situated along Little Creek in Norfolk.

2H. OCEAN MARINE, LLC, #04-1948, requests authorization to dredge 1,000 cubic yards of maintenance and 390 cubic yards of new subaqueous material, and to maintenance dredge on an as-needed basis, to provide maximum depths of up to minus -11.5 feet below mean low water within two slip areas, -26.5 feet below mean low water at the syncrolift and -17.5 feet below mean low water at the travel lift adjacent to their property situated along the Southern Branch of the Elizabeth River in Portsmouth. Staff recommends submission of both pre- and post-dredge bathymetric surveys and a royalty assessed at $0.45 per cubic yard for all new dredging. Disposal will occur at the Craney Island Rehandling Basin.

2I. CITY OF SALEM, ET AL, #04-2003, requests authorization to relocate telecommunications lines and replace the Colorado Street Bridge with a new bridge, 115-feet long by 83-feet wide, and install a bridge-suspended 2" electrical conduit over the Roanoke River in the City of Salem. Recommend time-of-year restriction from March 15 to June 30 to protect fish spawning habitat and our standard instream construction conditions.

2J. METRO MACHINE CORPORATION, #01-0690, requests authorization to reactivate and extend a permit which expired on May 26, 2004, and authorized the dredging, by clamshell method, a maximum of 147,300 cubic yards of State-owned submerged lands to provide maximum depths of -59 feet below MLW and install five (5) new mooring dolphins and three (3) tower cranes on platforms in order to expand the existing drydock adjacent to property situated at the confluence of the Eastern and Southern Branches of the Elizabeth River in Norfolk.

2K. SEAFORD SCALLOP CO., INC., #04-1572, requests authorization to install a 195- foot long by 16-foot wide open-pile finger pier at an existing commercial pier and to dredge, by clamshell method, a maximum of 5,900 cubic yards of State-owned submerged lands within a 315-foot long by 100-foot wide mooring basin to provide maximum depths of -12 feet below mean low water adjacent to their property situated along Back Creek in York County. All dredged materials will be suitably disposed on site. Recommend a pre-dredge conference, submission of a post-dredge bathymetric survey and a royalty of $0.45 per cubic yard for the dredging.

2L. RONALD W. BOONE, #04-2187, requests authorization to install two (2) 40-foot long concrete breakwaters (7 pilings) and an 18-foot by 40-foot T-head at the Harrison's Fishing Pier situated along the Chesapeake Bay in Norfolk.

2M. SANDERS YACHT YARD, #03-1630, requests authorization to construct two (2) 330-foot long open-pile commercial piers, one with an 85-foot long T-head, the other with a 35-foot long L-head, a total of 21 four-foot wide finger piers and 24 mooring piles to create a total of 45 wet slips on Carter Creek between Crockett's Landing and Irvington Marina in Irvington, Lancaster County.



NEXT MEETING:  1/25/05

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