NORTHUMBERLAND—Following a public hearing on Tuesday, February 24, the Virginia Marine Resources Commission (VMRC) voted 8-0 to provide $2.6 million in emergency funding from the Waterway Maintenance Grant Program to dredge the federal navigation channel of the Little Wicomico River. The funding is contingent upon the approval of the Joint Permit Application currently under review.
According to Jerry Davis, executive director of the Northern Neck Planning District Commission (NNPDC), which has been managing the Northern Neck Shallow Draft Dredging Plan, they applied for emergency funding through VMRC because a delay would represent a potential loss of life, total river closure and an economic collapse of the area. He noted that Smith Point Sea Rescue has been forced on multiple occasions to take much longer routes because the channel was impassable. Local marinas, watermen and seafood processors also are depending on the channel for their livelihood.
The NNPDC had applied for federal funding, but “there are no federal funds available,” said Davis.
According to recently completed studies as part of the dredging plan, 36,900 cubic feet of material, 94% of which is sand, will be placed south of the channel entrance to combat erosion. This is different from the last dredge that took place in 2015, Davis said, when materials were placed north of the channel. “A lot of that sand, because of weather events and natural movement, tends to get back into the channel. It’s one of the reasons we selected the area south of the channel. It’s less likely that the material would make its way back up into the channel. So we’re thinking this project, with the placement as planned, that we’ll get a longer life of the channel than 10 years,” he said.
Those that live on and make their living off of the water including residents and members of the Virginia Waterman’s Association, Smith Point Sea Rescue and Smith Point Marina came out in support of the project.
Northumberland resident Sandra Maynard spoke on behalf of Dredge the Little Wicomico Jetty, Virginia!, “a grassroots, nonpartisan coalition of almost 1,400 Virginians, which includes watermen, charter captains, marina owners, oyster growers and public safety volunteers who depend on this channel every day.” She said the emergency dredging was vital because the entrance has been “reduced to unsafe levels and navigation is unpredictable and tide-dependent.”
“The Little Wicomico supports commercial watermen, seafood processors, charter operations, marinas, more than 800 docks and ramps, 650 acres of oyster leases, 123 miles of shoreline if you count all the tributaries, and thousands of recreational boaters. It also serves as a critical safe harbor for vessels transiting the Chesapeake Bay,” said Maynard.
J.C. Hudgins, president of the Virginia Waterman’s Association, outlined the many ways watermen are being impacted by the navigation issues, citing damage to boats and gear, cancelled trips, lost fishing days and impacted oyster leases. “This working waterfront is part of the Northern Neck Heritage Area, which was established specifically to preserve and promote the region’s maritime heritage. Without navigable access, that heritage cannot survive in practice,” he said.
