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A RESOLUTION EXPRESSING THE COUNCIL'S ENDORSEMENT OF THE <br />ANALYSIS, RECOMMENDATIONS AND CONCLUSIONS OF THE JAMES RIVER <br />BASIN WATER SUPPLY PLAN AS THEY PERTAIN TO SOUTHEAST VIRGINIA <br />AND URGING THE VIRGINIA WATER CONTROL BOARD TO ADOPT THE PLAN. <br /> <br /> WHEREAS, Southeastern Virginia Planning District <br />Commission predicted in the early 1970's that Southeastern <br />Virginia would experience water supply shortages by the end <br />the decade if new water supplies were not developed; and <br /> <br />of <br /> <br /> WHEREAS, major municipal jurisdictions in southeast <br />Virginia have experienced water shortages and water quality <br />problems almost continuously since the 1980/81 drought, and <br />such water shortage and water quality problems are expected to <br />worsen in the future if additional water supplies are not <br />developed; and <br /> <br /> WHEREAS, the Southeastern Public Service Authority did, <br />in 1975 and again in 1983, recommend and endorse withdrawal of <br />water from Lake Gaston as the most appropriate solution to the <br />water shortage; and <br /> <br /> WHEREAS, the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers completed a <br />9-year Congressionally mandated water supply study for Hampton <br />Roads, Virginia, dated December 1984, which recommended that <br />an additional fifty-five million gallons per day (mgd) be <br />developed by the year 2030, and furthermore recommended <br />withdrawal of water from Lake Gaston as the most appropriate <br />solution to the water shortage; and <br /> <br /> WHEREAS, the Corps water supply study, which included an <br />Environmental Impact Statement and an extensive analysis of <br />environmentally impacts as the most practical alternatives by <br />the U. S. Fish and wildlife Service, recommended the Lake <br />Gaston Project as the most environmental sound alternative; <br />and <br /> <br /> WHEREAS, based on an application from Virginia Beach <br />which included a 300 page environmental report, the Corps of <br />Engineers did make a finding of no significant impact and did <br />issue a permit for Virginia Beach to withdraw sixty (60) mgd <br />from Lake Gaston and transport it to Norfolk's rural water <br />facilities located in Isle of Wight and Suffolk; and <br /> <br /> WHEREAS, the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency, the <br />U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the National Marine Fisheries <br />Service, the Virginia Marine Resources Commission, the <br />Virginia Water Control Board, and numerous other state, <br />federal and local agencies have supported the Corps' finding <br />of no significant impact; and <br /> <br /> <br />