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R-03-08 <br /> <br />A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF PORTSMOUTH, VIRGINIA, <br />ENCOURAGING THE UNITED STATES CONGRESS TO APPROPRIATE <br />FUNDS FOR THE REMOVAL OF THE ENVIRONMENTALLY-HAZARDOUS <br />JAMES RIVER RESERVE FLEET. <br /> <br /> WHEREAS, the James River Reserve Fleet, commonly known as the Ghost Fleet, <br />is moored on the James River near Fort Eustis: and <br /> <br /> WHEREAS, the Reserve Fleet consists of 97 ships, 71 of which the United States <br />Maritime Administration considers obsolete and has scheduled to be scrapped: and <br /> <br /> WHEREAS. the Reserve Fleet holds 7.7 million gallons of oils and fuels <br />according to the latest government estimates, a quantity slightly less than the quantity of <br />oil the Exxon Valdez spilled off the shores of Alaska in 1989; and <br /> <br /> WHEREAS. the Reserve Fleet poses a serious and increasing environmental <br />threat to the Hampton Roads region according to a 2002 report created for the United <br />States Maritime Administration, and a serious oil and/or gas spill from the decaying ships <br />is no longer a mere possibility but a probability; and <br /> <br /> WHEREAS, a large oil or gas leak would heavily pollute the waters, shores, <br />beaches, and wetlands of Portsmouth, and other jurisdictions in proximity to the James <br />River, causing hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars in environmental damage; <br />and <br /> <br /> WHEREAS, oil has leaked from the Reserve Fleet on several occasions since <br />1998, and while these small leaks have not left lasting environmental damage, they have <br />cost approximately $2 million to clean up; and <br /> <br /> WHEREAS. the environmental risk is heightened by the threat of storm or <br />hurricane related damage that could cause the release of toxic and hazardous materials <br />into the water and on to the shores of Portsmouth. Newport News, Hampton, James City <br />County, Isle of Wight County, Suffolk and other coastal communities in Hampton Roads <br />and along the banks of the James River; and <br /> <br /> WHEREAS, the United States Congress has recognized that the James River <br />Reserve Fleet poses an ecological and economic threat to the Hampton Roads Region and <br />has ordered the Maritime Administration to remove the fleet by 2006. The cost to <br />remove the obsolete vessels from the Reserve Fleet, to date, has been estimated at $177 <br />million. <br /> <br /> NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Council of the City of <br />Portsmouth, Virginia, that it hereby urges Congess to appropriate the necessary funds for <br />the removal of obsolete, and environmentally-hazardons vessels from the James River <br /> <br /> <br />