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Save the Mattaponi

 

BREAKING NEWS: KWR Reservoir Opponents Release Survey Report of Alternatives

[May 26, 2009] The Sierra Club and the Alliance to Save the Mattaponi today released a report that outlines potential alternatives to the controversial King William Reservoir project.  The report, A Survey of Sustainable Water Supplies in Virginia’s Lower Peninsula- Alternatives to the King William Reservoir Project, was prepared by Environmental Stewardship Concepts, a Richmond based consulting firm. 

Click here to read the news release.

Click here to read the survey report.

We Can Stop the King William Reservoir!

In early April 2009, the Alliance to Save the Mattaponi learned that a federal judge had ruled against Newport News, striping the city of the permit it needs from the Army Corps of Engineers to build the King  William Reservoir.  The Alliance to Save the Mattaponi is an organization of individuals and organizations dedicated to protection of the Mattaponi River and to the defeat of the proposed King William Reservoir. (Click here to view Memorandum of Opinion dated 3/31/09)

The Mattaponi River is the most pristine tidal river in Virginia and the best shad fishery in the Chesapeake Bay watershed.  The river and the Cohoke Creek valley are threatened by a massive reservoir proposed by the City of Newport News that would divert up to 75 million gallons of water per day from the Mattaponi River and flood over 1500 acres of the Cohoke Valley resulting in the loss of over 400 acres of wetlands; the largest permitted loss of wetlands in Virginia since the passage of the 1972 Clean Water Act.  The reservoir would also violate a 1677 treaty with the local Native Americans which the tribes have faithfully honored for 330 years. It would flood important archeological sites that area Native Americans would rather have left undisturbed.

The Alliance has opposed three major permits needed for the reservoir. Against all odds and with the help of many friends, the Alliance has achieved victories before the Army Corps of Engineers, the Virginia Marine Resources Commission and the State Water Control Board. But each time we have successfully opposed a permit, powerful politicians, like Newport News Mayor Joe Frank, Senator John Warner and developers have intervened to coerce these agencies to reverse their decisions.  The Alliance, along with Sierra Club, the Chesapeake Bay Foundation and the Mattaponi Indian Tribe, had challenged the Army Corps of Engineers permit in federal court.

Status of the King William Reservoir

This long difficult fight has gone for 13 years and Newport News still has not turned over one shovel of dirt to construct the reservoir. The recent federal court victory means that Newport News no longer has the permit it needs from the Army Corps of Engineers although they could appeal.  Additionally, Newport News must first complete its environmental studies on the river and come back to the State Water Control Commission in 2012 to have their permit renewed.  With your continued support, the Alliance will be there in 2012 opposing this permit again, and we intend to win. 

With our recent court victory we need to turn up the heat on Newport News to stop this destructive project once and for all.  Here is how you can help:

1.    Send a letter to Governor Tim Kaine, P.O. Box 1475, Richmond, VA 23218, expressing your opposition to the King William Reservoir.

2.    Write a letter to the editor of your local paper.

3.    Send a tax deductible donation to support our efforts to Save the Mattaponi- Make checks payable to: Sierra Club Foundation (our fiscal agent) and send to Alliance to Save the Mattaponi, P.O. Box 150, Mattaponi, VA 23110-0150

4.    Visit our website at www.savethemattaponi.org for the latest news

5.    Volunteer to help! Send your contact information to Tyla Matteson.

For more information, contact Tyla Matteson at 804-275-6476; tmatteson1@mindspring.com

Please visit: www.savethemattaponi.org