Craney Island receives Virginia Department of Environmental Quality permit

Posted March 15, 2010
By Brittany Brown, Norfolk District Public Affairs

03/15/2010 - NORFOLK, Va. — U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Norfolk District, and the Virginia Port Authority (VPA) received a permit approval March 11 from the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (VDEQ) for the Craney Island Eastward Expansion.

The Virginia water protection permit, valid for 15 years from the date of issuance, authorizes construction of the expansion and the mitigation plan components. One such piece is the creation of two new dredged material disposal cells to extend the life of the Craney Island Dredged Material Management Area beyond 2025. This will ultimately lay the groundwork for construction of a new port facility for Hampton Roads.

Speaking about the permit approval, Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell stated the permit approval is critical to the success and completion of Craney Island and future growth for the Port of Virginia.

"The economic impact of this permit approval goes beyond Craney Island. This project will generate thousands of jobs and millions of dollars in revenue for the Hampton Roads area as well as the state," said McDonnell.

According to McDonnell, construction of the Craney Island Eastward Expansion is anticipated to generate 1,176 jobs with annual wages of $36 million. "Over time the project will generate over 54,000 jobs with wages of $1.7 billion and state and local tax revenues of $155 million; the project will generate $5 billion in economic impacts for the Commonwealth annually," he added.

Pending funding from the VPA and Corps, the first phase of the marine terminal is planned to be operational by 2017.