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Case Digest Winter
2003 Virginia: Construction of the
King William Reservoir, King William County
Virginia: Construction of the King William Reservoir, King William County
Agency: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
A reservoir
proposed by a Virginia city for an area east of Richmond was designed
to ensure the area’s supply of drinking water. It is planned to
be built, however, on land that contains numerous prehistoric archeological
sites, and would exist between the reservations of the Pamunkey
and the Mattaponi tribes.
The district
level of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers denied a permit for the
reservoir’s construction, citing unacceptably adverse impacts to
the tribes’ traditional cultural properties and the area’s wetlands.
But because the Governor disagreed with the district’s decision,
the case was automatically elevated to the Corps of Engineers’ division
level for consideration.
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In 1997, the City of Newport News, Virginia, applied for a permit from
the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Norfolk District to build a reservoir
in King William County, east of Richmond, Virginia. The reservoir would
help ensure the Tidewater areas supply of drinking water for many
years into the future.
Cohoke Creek, on which the King William Reservoir is proposed to be built, King William County, VA (photo courtesy of King William Reservoir Project)
The reservoir would be built on Cohoke Creek, a small tributary of the
Pamunkey River, which is surrounded by land that contains numerous prehistoric
archeological sites. In addition, the reservoir would be situated between
the reservations of the Pamunkey and the Mattaponi tribes. The presence
of the reservoir was anticipated to affect several historic properties
of traditional cultural significance to the tribes.
From 1997 to 1999, the ACHP consulted on the terms of an agreement for
the project with the Corps of Engineers, the Virginia State Historic Preservation
Officer, the City of Newport News, tribal representatives, and the Environmental
Protection Agency, which was monitoring the consultation process to ensure
that the reservoirs impacts to the tribal communities were fully
considered.
In 1999, however, the Section 106 consultation process was suspended
when the Corps of Engineers Norfolk District denied issuance of
the permit, citing unacceptably adverse impacts to the tribes traditional
cultural properties and the areas wetlands, as well as disputable
figures of future water needs.
Because the Virginia Governor disagreed with the Corps of Engineers
district-level decision to deny the permit, the case was automatically
elevated to the Corps of Engineers division level for review.
The division requested further comments from various stakeholders and,
in 2002, reversed the permit denial and proceeded with the permit review
process. The division found that there would be a need for additional
water sources for the Tidewater area in the near future, and that construction
of the reservoir was a viable and feasible alternative.
The ACHP is currently awaiting a new schedule for consultation on the
proposed reservoir project.
Staff contact: Tom
McCulloch
Posted
May 6, 2003
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