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Norfolk District

Historic project begins; targets river 'goo'

July 2, 2009
By Mark W. Haviland
Norfolk District Public Affairs Office

CHESAPEAKE, Va.—Employees of the Norfolk District joined local politicians, scientists, environmentalists and business representatives on the banks of the Elizabeth River here to mark the historic launch of the Money Point restoration project.

"Today, finally, we are able to say the goo is going," said Marjorie Mayfield Jackson, executive director of The Elizabeth River Project.

The "goo" is the result of a 1963 explosion and fire at a nearby wood treatment plant and an additional spill in 1967, which contaminated 19.5 acres at Money Point. The first phase of the project includes the removal of more than 800 cubic yards of contaminated soil and the restoration 5.5 acres of tidal wetlands and forested shoreline.

Additional planned work at the site includes the dredging of toxic contaminants from the river bottom and the construction of an oyster reef. Contaminants in the river at Money Point are "among the highest in the world" and are associated with high rates of cancer in fish, according to information on the Trust's Web site: http://www.elizabethriver.org.

The restoration project is the result of a unique partnership that includes state and federal agencies, business, community and environmental groups. The Living River Trust began in 2004, when the Norfolk District, the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality and The Elizabeth River Project reached an agreement for developing a mechanism to provide compensatory mitigation for impacts to aquatic resources authorized by Clean Water Act permits issued by the Corps and the Commonwealth.

Col. Andrew Backus, district commander, praised the work of the Elizabeth River Project, the Living River Trust and the various partners who made the project possible.

"This (the Trust) is a model for the nation," said Backus.