First Federal Appropriations For Craney Island Eastward Expansion On September 30th, Congress appropriated $100,000 towards construction of the Craney Island Eastward Expansion. The project was included in the 2010 Energy and Water Appropriations Bill. Inclusion in this fi scal year’s budget will also qualify the project for general construction federal stimulus money.

“This project was authorized in November 2007 and less than two years after that we’re able to secure funding; that is incredible,” said J.J. Keever, the Virginia Port Authority’s (VPA) Senior Deputy Executive Director.

This important milestone could not have been reached without the help of Virginia’s congressional delegation. “It says a lot about the eff ort and commitment to this project put forth by Senators Jim Webb and Mark Warner and Congressmen Bobby Scott and Glenn Nye. A lot of credit and thanks are owed to those people because they were the ones who imparted the importance of Craney Island on their colleagues,” Keever added.

“The expansion of Craney Island is critical to both the region’s economic growth and national defense,” Senator Jim Webb said in a statement. “Today’s funding announcement opens the door to continued federal investment to keep this project on track while also creating jobs in the Norfolk area.”

Senator Mark Warner agreed, saying, “The Craney Island expansion is an ambitious and critically important infrastructure project not only for Hampton Roads and Virginia, but for the nation. I am pleased we have been able to turn-on the spigot to federal support for what will be a multi-year eff ort.”

Funding for the Craney Island Eastward Expansion utilizes a combination of Federal and state funds. According to WRDA, the Federal government—through the Army Corps of Engineers—will share 50% of dike construction cost with the VPA. Dike construction is now on track to begin in the summer of 2010.

The Craney Island Eastward Expansion will generate $6 billion in national transportation cost savings and create 54,000 jobs with wages of $1.7 billion and local tax revenues of $155 million. Congressman Glenn Nye pointed out that Craney Island will be the “only major East Coast port facility with the ability to increase its size at will, meaning that this project will provide endless business investment opportunities for the Hampton Roads economy that will create jobs.”

Oyster reef construction is one component of the Craney Island Eastward Expansion mitigation plan. Oysters are a keystone species, meaning they are crucial species of their ecological community. Therefore, oysters reefs are critical to supporting diverse river life. Oysters provide significant ecological services. Over 300 aquatic species including snails, worms, crabs, and sponges live and hide within the structure of the oyster reef. In addition to providing a habitat for commercially and ecologically important species, oysters act as a natural water filtration system. Oysters can filter up to 60 gallons of water daily, which works to reduce sediments and pollutants in the water.

The Craney Island Eastward Expansion mitigation plan will create 15 acres of restored oyster reefs in the Elizabeth River. Restored reefs are created by placing multiple piles of old oyster shell on hard bottom areas of the river allowing, young oysters to settle, grow, and reproduce. A team of scientists, including, Craig Seltzer and Dave Schultz, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Norfolk District, and Russ Burke with the Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS), led the field investigation to gather site specific data and to address issues of reef survivability and constructability.

The field investigations included looking at the performance of previously constructed oyster reefs in the river, identifying sites where natural oyster populations may be developing, and examining the stability of bottom sediments for reef construction. During these investigations, a surprising and unprecedented discovery was made. A subaqueous natural reef was found in the river’s Western Branch.

Typical oysters discovered on natural reef in Elizabeth River are over 6 inches (150 mm) in size.
Photo courtesy of U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Norfolk District

This newly discovered reef is very large and contains thousands of oysters in the 5 to 6 inch range (many at least 5 years old). Two prominent diseases MSX, and Dermo, typically kill vulnerable oysters before they reach 3 inches. But disease studies conducted at VIMS on these oysters indicate that they remain healthy despite the presence of marine disease. The oysters showed resistance to MSX and Dermo doubling to the size in which mortality is typically seen. This discovery provides clear evidence that certain oysters in the population can resist disease in the Elizabeth River. These large oysters will be used as broodstock (specialized aquatic breeding species) to provide spat-on-shell for constructed reefs as part of this mitigation plan. The spat-on-shell oyster restoration technique has demonstrated an effective process for growing healthy and harvestable oysters in Virginia’s waters.

On Thursday November 15, 2007,Congress enacted legislation that will authorize $356.1 million in Federal funds for the Craney Island Eastward Expansion.  The authorization is part of the $21 billion Water Resources Development Act (WRDA), a law that provides authorization for water resources projects, such as shoreline and aquatic ecosystem restoration. Apart from the eastward expansion of Craney Island, the bill contains hundreds of projects including efforts to restore the hurricane damaged Louisiana coastline and the Florida Everglades.  With this authorization, the Federal government will share 50% of the cost in developing the dikes for the eastward expansion project.

As a sign of support to the Craney Island Eastward Expansion project, Congressional negotiators approved $356.1 million in Federal funds to expand the Craney Island site to accommodate the construction of a state of the art marine terminal.

The authorization is part of the $21 billion Water Resources Development Act (WRDA), a law that provides authorization and funding for marine-related projects, such as shoreline and aquatic ecosystem restoration. Apart from the eastward expansion of Craney Island, the bill will fund projects to restore the hurricane damaged Louisiana coastline and the Florida Everglades. Originally, the Craney Island Eastward Expansion Feasibility Report recommended a 4% Federal cost share for the project, which amounted to around $31.2 million in Federal funds. This recommendation was based solely on the dredging benefits resulting from the expansion, which was only 1 percent of the overall Federal benefits related to the project. However, over 99 percent of the benefits incurred through the expansion of Craney Island and the construction of a marine terminal are transportation related, as more goods will move through the Port of Virginia. The eastward expansion of CIDMMA, combined with the development of the marine terminal will generate $6 billion in National Economic Development (NED) benefits.

In the current version of WRDA, the Federal government will share 50% of the cost in developing the dikes for the eastward expansion project. This level of Federal cost share is indicative of a clear recognition within Congress of the enormous benefits gained from the project at the National level. The Craney Island Eastward Expansion is positioned as a vital project that will represent significant economic benefits for the Nation and the region. Regional benefits will be derived from three primary sources marine terminal design and construction, terminal related transportation operations, and distribution center operations. Over $5 billion in state and regional economic activity will be seen annually, with 54,000 jobs emerging from port related activity.
The Water Resources Development Act has a few more steps before it is finally approved. At press time, both houses of Congress were expected to vote on the measure, by the end of the week and offer it to the President for signature into law. The significance of the Craney Island Eastward Expansion goes beyond Hampton Roads and the region. Senator John Warner, who has been a champion of the Eastward Expansion notes, “The importance of Craney Island’s expansion to Hampton Roads cannot be overstated”.

On June 13-14 2007, a renowned panel of geotechnical and civil engineering experts convened in Norfolk, VA to discuss technical aspects associated with the design and construction of the Craney Island Eastward Expansion and Craney Island Marine Terminal (CIMT). Meeting with representatives from The Virginia Port Authority and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the diverse panel of participants included Dr. Masaki Kitazume from the Port and Airport Research Institute of Japan, Dr. J. Michael Duncan, Distinguished Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Virginia Tech, and Dr. James K. Mitchell, Virginia Tech distinguished professor emeritus, in the same department.

The group was charged with examining the direction of future work on the expansion project, from a geotechnical perspective. Over the course of two days, the panel and invited guests toured the existing Craney Island Dredged Material Management Area (CDMMA) and discussed a number of topics, including dike and ground improvement, alternatives and recommendations for future investigations.

The group drew consensus on a number of items and suggested next steps towards the construction of this multi-faceted and complex project. Over the next 18 months the panel will reconvene throughout each phase of design for the expansion and port development to provide geotechnical expertise.