Notice of Record of Decision for Norfolk Harbor Channel Dredging, Norfolk and Portsmouth, VA

Résumé

The Department of the Navy (DON), after carefully weighing the operational and environmental consequences of the proposed action, announces its decision to deepen approximately five miles of Norfolk Harbor Channel, the Federal navigational channel in the Southern Branch of the Elizabeth River, separating Norfolk and Portsmouth, Virginia. Dredging in the heavily-used waterway would occur from the Lamberts Point Deperming Station in the Lamberts Bend Reach, south to Naval Support Activity Norfolk Naval Shipyard, commonly referred to as the Norfolk Naval Shipyard (NNSY), in the Lower Reach. Dredged material would be placed at The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' (USACE) Craney Island Dredged Material Management Area (CIDMMA). The deepening project will establish continuously safe and expeditious transit routes for U.S. Naval Ships to Lamberts Point Deperming Station and NNSY. Dredging would occur completely within the existing USACE-maintained federal navigation channel. In its decision, the Navy considered applicable executive orders, including an analysis of the effects of its actions in compliance with the Endangered Species Act, the Coastal Zone Management Act, and the National Histo