Minutes 06/08-09/1987 - Laserfiche WebLink

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349 June 9, 1987 qater quality problems are expected to worsen in the future if addi- tional water supplies are not developed; and ~gHEREAS, the Southeastern Public Service Authority did, in 197! and again in 1983, recommend and endorse withdrawal of water from Lake Gaston as the most appropriate solution ~o the water shortage; and WHEREAS, the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers completed a 9-year Congressionally mandated water supply study for Hampton Roads, Virginia, dated December 1984, which recommended ~hat an additional fifty-five million gallons per day (mgd) be developed by the year 2030, and furthermore resommended withdrawal of water from Lake Gaston as the most appropriate solution to the water shortage; and WHEREAS, the Corps water supply study, which included an Envi- ronmental Impact Statement and an extensive analysis of environmen- tally impacts as the most practical alternatives by the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service, recommended the Lake Gaston Project as the most environmental sound alternative; and WHEREAS, based on an application from Vi2ginia Beach which included a 300 page environmental report, the Corps of Engineers did make a finding of no ~si~nificant impact and did issue a permit for Virginia Beach to withdraw'sixty (60) mgd from Lake Gaston and trans ,port it to Norfolk's rural water facilities located in Isle of Wight and Suffolk; and WHERgAS, the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency, the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the National M~rine ~isheries Service, the Virginia Marine Resources Commission, the Virginia Water Contro' Board, and numerous other state, federal and local agencies have supported the Corps' finding of no significant impact; and WHEREAS, in the more than 10-years that th~ Lake Gaston Projecl ~as ~een discussed and analysed, including no l~ss than eight publi( hearings on the matter, no one has presented any documentable evi- dence of significant environmental impacts from the project; and WHEREAS, the Virginia Water Control Board ~as recently prepare~ a draft James River Basin Water Supply Plan, dated Febrnary 1987, w~ich Plan recommends that an additional forty-nine ~o eighty-five mgd should be developed for the Southeast Virginia Municipal Demand Center to prevent water supply shortages by the year 2030, and whic~ Plan further recommends that Lake Gastsn is the best overall soluti~ to a major portion of the water supply shortage. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the CoUncil of the City of Portsmouth, Virginia endorses the analysiS, recommendations, and conclusions of the James River Basin Wate[ Supply Plan gs, t~yy pertain to southeast Virginia and urges the~¥irginia Water Control Board to adopt the Plan at its first scheduled opportunity. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this Council c~mmends the staff of the Water Control Board for its efforts a~d d~d~cation in the coordJ nation, drafting and preparation of the Plan. Ayes: Barnes, Corprew, Gray, Simpson, Webb, Holley Nays: None 87-265 - Letter from the City Manager recommending adoption of a resolution to appoint viewers for the closing of a portion of Chemical Way.