AGENDA MARCH 24, 2015

**APPROVAL OF AGENDA.  

1.  MINUTES of previous meeting.

2.  PERMITS (Projects over $500,000 with no objections and with staff recommendation for approval).

3.  CONSENT AGENDA ITEMS.

4.  CLOSED MEETING FOR CONSULTATION WITH, OR BRIEFING BY COUNSEL.

5. SEAGATE TERMINALS, L.L.C., #14-1667, requests authorization to dredge approximately 137,500 cubic yards of State-owned submerged land to achieve maximum depths of -42 feet mean low water, to install 100 linear feet of steel sheet-pile bulkhead, 160 linear feet of riprap revetment, a 550-foot long by 80-foot wide wharf and a 615-foot long by 50-foot wide access dock with four (4) mooring dolphins and associated catwalks, and to construct approximately 600 linear feet of living shoreline in association with a proposed bulk materials handling facility adjacent to Jefferson Street situated north of the South Norfolk Jordan Bridge along the Southern Branch of the Elizabeth River in Chesapeake. The project requires a wetlands and a subaqueous permit. Continued from the February 24, 2015, Commission meeting.

6. TOMMY GARNER, #12-1423, requests authorization to install a 5-foot wide open pile private pier extending 220 feet channelward of mean low water with a 6-foot wide L-head and two (2) associated mooring piles along Deep Creek extending from an existing water access easement at 632 Snug Harbor Lane in the City of Newport News. The project is protested by the property owner and an adjacent property owner.

7. STEPHEN AUSTIN, #14-0867, requests authorization to construct a 15-foot by 18-foot gazebo roof structure and to construct a 16-foot by 36-foot open-sided boathouse roof structure to shelter a single boat at his property situated along the Pagan River, in the Town of Smithfield, in Isle of Wight County. The roof structures are protested by both adjacent property owners.

8. ROBERT and JANE ELLIOTT, #14-1414, request authorization to install 45 linear feet of Class II armor stone riprap against an existing revetment, which will extend four feet channelward of mean low water, place approximately 30 cubic yards of beach nourishment, and install a 20-foot long by 14-foot wide, breakwater, adjacent to property situated along Judith Sound in Northumberland County. The project is protested by both adjacent property owners.

9. RAPPAHANNOCK OYSTER COMPANY, #15-0031, requests authorization to cover two (2) existing open-pile deck structures with an open-sided roof, construct open-pile decking over a 30-foot wide by 80-foot long existing boat slip area, and install six (6) mooring piles to secure a 60-foot long by 30-foot wide floating, paddlewheel upweller barge at their oyster aquaculture facility on Locklies Creek at 784 Locklies Creek Road in Middlesex County. The project is protested by several nearby property owners.

10. VIRGINIA ELECTRIC AND POWER COMPANY, #14-0968, requests authorization to install a 34.5 kV submarine export cable under State-owned submerged bottomlands within the Atlantic Ocean from the Camp Pendleton State Military Reservation shoreline in Virginia Beach to the three nautical mile boundary of the Commonwealth's territorial sea. The export cable will be a portion of the line that will transmit electrical power from two (2) 6-MW wind turbine generators to be constructed in federal waters approximately 24 nautical miles offshore to support the Virginia Offshore Wind Technology Advancement Project (VOWTAP).

11. CHARLIE R. GREGORY, #2014-004, requests authorization to lease approximately one acre of oyster planting grounds in Broad Bay in the City of Virginia Beach. The application is protested by a nearby adjacent highland property owner.

12. PUBLIC COMMENT:

13. OFFENDERS.

14. PUBLIC HEARING: Proposed amendments to Chapter 4 VAC 20-20-10 et seq. "Pertaining to Licensing of Fixed Fishing Devices" to amend the gear management measures for pound nets to comply with the bottlenose dolphin take reduction plan and the endangered species act for sea turtle take conservation areas.

15. PUBLIC HEARING: Proposed amendments to Chapter 4 VAC 20-650-10 et seq. "Establishment of Oyster Sanctuary Areas" to designate all unassigned or vacant submerged bottom, designated as restricted shellfish areas or prohibited shellfish areas by the Virginia Department of Health, as oyster sanctuaries.

16. PUBLIC HEARING: Proposed final adoption of emergency amendments to Chapter 4 VAC 20-720-10 et seq. "Pertaining to Restrictions on Oyster Harvest" to temporarily suspend the sale of any oyster hand scrape and oyster dredge gear licenses.

17. PUBLIC HEARING: Proposed amendments to Chapter 4 VAC 20-252-10 et seq. "Pertaining to the Taking of Striped Bass", to establish the annual Chesapeake Bay and Coastal recreational management measures, modify the commercial striped bass tag possession requirements by area, reestablish the lawful methods for harvesting striped bass commercially, and modify the administrative dates for permanent and temporary commercial transfers of individual striped bass weight quota.

18. REQUEST FOR EMERGENCY REGULATION: Proposed emergency Chapter 4 VAC 20-252-10 et seq., Pertaining to the Taking Of Striped Bass", to establish the coastal area and Chesapeake area trophy-size striped bass minimum possession size limit of 36 inches total length.

19. REQUEST FOR EMERGENCY REGULATION: Proposed emergency Chapter 4 VAC 20-252-10 et seq. "Pertaining to the Taking of Striped Bass" to delay the start of the 2015 Chesapeake Bay 28-inch commercial striped bass maximum size limit that begins March 26 until April 2 and corresponding proposed emergency Chapter 4 VAC 20-751-10 et seq. "Pertaining to Setting and Mesh Size of Gill Nets" to modify the gill net mesh size seasons.

20. REQUEST FOR EMERGENCY REGULATION: Proposed emergency amendments to Chapter 4 VAC 20-1090-10 et seq. "Pertaining to License Requirements and License Fees" to lower recreational fishing license fees.

21. REQUEST FOR EMERGENCY REGULATION: Proposed emergency Chapter 4 VAC 20-1280-10 et seq. "Pertaining to License Revocations" to establish penalties for individuals who violate a Commission issued revocation of fishing licenses.

22. REQUEST FOR AN EMERGENCY REGULATION: 4 VAC-20-620-10, "Pertaining to Summer Flounder", to close the summer flounder commercial offshore fishery on April 19th, to prevent a quota overage.

23. REQUEST FOR PUBLIC HEARING: Proposed amendments to Chapter 4 VAC 20-950-10 et seq. "Pertaining to Black Sea Bass" to modify the dates for the recreational fishing season for black sea bass.

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2A. NORFOLK DEPARTMENT OF UTILITIES, #14-1388, requests authorization to install a 36-inch steel raw water main a minimum of 45 feet beneath the substrate utilizing horizontal directional drilling technology and extending across 450 linear feet of the Western Branch of the Elizabeth River between 12 Sandie Point Lane in Portsmouth and the intersection of Bruce Station and Bruce Road in Chesapeake.

2B. CITY OF VIRGINIA BEACH, #15-0068, requests authorization to maintenance dredge on an as-necessary basis approximately 150,000 cubic yards (per cycle) of State-owned submerged bottom within the City's Rudee Inlet Outer Channel Deposition Basin, situated along the Atlantic Ocean in Virginia Beach. The Basin will be hydraulically dredged to maximum depths of minus 22 feet mean lower low water, and the dredged material (beach quality sand) will be used as beach nourishment and placed on the City's adjacent resort beach between Rudee Inlet and 14th Street.

2C. VIRGINIA ELECTRIC AND POWER COMPANY, #15-0213, requests authorization to replace the fender system protecting two (2) existing Virginia Electric and Power Company Towers that support power lines extending between Isle of Wight County and the City of Newport News in the James River upstream of the Route 17 James River Bridge. Staff recommends approval of the project with a royalty of $4,914.00 for the encroachment over 2,457 square feet of State-owned subaqueous bottom at a rate of $2.00 per square foot. Staff also recommends a special permit condition for a time-of- year restriction of February 15 through July 15 to protect nesting Peregrine Falcons.


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VMRC DOES NOT DISCRIMINATE AGAINST INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES; THEREFORE, IF YOU ARE IN NEED OF REASONABLE ACCOMMODATIONS DUE TO A DISABILITY, PLEASE ADVISE JANE MCCROSKEY (757-247-2215) NO LATER THAN FIVE WORK DAYS PRIOR TO THE MEETING DATE AND IDENTIFY YOUR NEEDS.

FISHERY MANAGEMENT ITEMS WILL IMMEDIATELY FOLLOW THE HABITAT MANAGEMENT PROJECTS ON THIS AGENDA.



 

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