Hurricane Preparedness Week

Governor Tim Kaine recognized May 24-30 as National Hurricane Preparedness Week and reminds Virginians that the Commonwealth will mark its second annual Hurricane Preparedness Sales Tax Holiday from Monday, May 25, through Sunday, May 31.

“Hurricane season will soon be here and now is a good time to start thinking about what you will need if one of these devastating storms affects Virginia,” Governor Kaine said. “These tax breaks should help everyone buy the items they need to see them through the difficult days that follow the storms.”

During the sales tax holiday many items that are very useful during and after a hurricane will be exempt from the 5 percent state and local sales tax. Twenty-two items will be tax exempt, including batteries, flashlights, bottled water, smoke detectors, fire extinguishers, first aid kits, and generators that cost $1,000 or less. A complete list of tax-exempt products and frequently asked questions is available on the Tax Department’s Web site at www.tax.virginia.gov. All Virginia retailers who sell the tax-exempt products are required by law to waive the sales tax on these items during the seven-day exemption period.

“This sales tax holiday is the perfect time to go shopping and buy tax-exempt items that will help you get through a hurricane or other large storm when there are usually power outages and other problems,” said Tax Commissioner Janie Bowen.

Since 2003, Virginia has had 49 fatalities and suffered over $2 billion in damage from storms including Hurricane Isabel, Hurricane Jeanne, and Tropical Depression Gaston. This year also marks the 40th anniversary of Hurricane Camille, which left more than 100 dead and damage of more than $1 billion in Virginia.

Governor Kaine also encouraged Virginians to take advantage of the resources available on Ready Virginia to ensure that they are prepared for a hurricane, other natural disaster, or any emergency. Ready Virginia provides information to help Virginians prepare emergency kits, make emergency plans, and stay informed in the event of an emergency.

During the sales tax holiday, retailers are also permitted to pay the sales tax themselves on any non-qualifying item or items they sell and pass the 5 percent savings on to customers. Virginia will have two additional sales tax holidays this year— for school supplies and clothing from Aug. 7-9, 2009, and for Energy Star and WaterSense products will from Oct. 9- 12, 2009.

January 1, 2101: A look 'back' at the 21st century

by Doug Dwoyer

Hampton Roads has endured a period of rapid and challenging change over the last century. The 21st century began with great optimism in the region as the nation's and region's economies were thriving. Many trends of those times, including globalization of the world's economy, significant military activity and spending and rising coal exports, favored Hampton Roads. Our once-thriving port was rapidly expanding, fueled by globalization of trade and growing coal exports. In those heady days, the future of the region indeed looked bright.

At this time, the world began to recognize the emergence of human-induced climate change and its potential to cause major disruption during the 21st century. In 2007 a report was issued by a body called the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which was sponsored by the United Nations and the World Meteorological Organization. It projected a 5-degree to 9-degree Fahrenheit change in mean global temperature and a 1-foot to 2-foot rise in sea level by 2100. Shortly after this report was issued, scientists began to discover rapid melting and deterioration of the Greenland and West Antarctica ice sheets, leading to fears of even greater sea-level rise.


Unfortunately, people around the world, including those in Hampton Roads, did not seriously respond to these warnings and continued to operate as if climate change was something abstract and not important in their daily lives.

As we know today, the projections in the 2007 IPCC report on global temperature rise were remarkably accurate, as now in 2101 it is about 10 degrees warmer around the planet than it was in 2001.

On the other hand, we have experienced a far greater sea-level rise than predicted, with sea level about 6 feet higher today than in 2001. As Greenland and West Antarctica continue their rapid melting today, there is no end in sight to rapid sea-level rise. The impact of these global changes on our region has been nothing short of devastating.

Old-timers in Hampton Roads can recall large areas of our region east of U.S. Route 17 that were above water and populated. Large areas of Gloucester and York counties, as well as major sections of Hampton, Norfolk, Virginia Beach and Chesapeake, were home to thriving communities, businesses, factories and other assets. The city of Poquoson, which no longer exists, had a population of about 11,000 in 2001 and was a rapidly growing bedroom community.

Our major highway links across the harbor, the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel and the Monitor-Merrimac Memorial Bridge-Tunnel are frequently overwashed and require constant repair.

These old-timers can recall a vast military presence in the region. After the devastation caused by the major hurricanes of 2038 and 2042 and subsequent inundation, the Air Force was forced to abandon Langley Air Force Base, and by 2075 the Navy was also forced to abandon the Norfolk naval base and numerous other facilities due to inundation as well. With the loss of these military facilities, the region lost a major part of its employment base and population.


In the early 21st century, Hampton Roads was a thriving, waterfront-oriented region, and much of our then-acclaimed lifestyle was focused on living near and playing on the water.

Today that is hard to imagine, as our waterfront is dominated by abandoned buildings slowly being claimed by the bay or sea. Abandoned roads, sewage treatment facilities and other utilities lie just beneath the surface in the near-shore areas. The massive pollution from all of this has ruined the quality of the water itself, as well as making nearshore navigation hazardous. Indeed, the water has transformed from being a regional asset in 2001 to a hazardous, polluted eyesore that is inexorably devouring the region in 2101.

Looking back on this sad state of affairs for Hampton Roads in 2101, we can only wish that our ancestors a century or more ago had taken the ample warnings more seriously before these irreversible changes began. We could today live in a very different, more prosperous and enjoyable Hampton Roads than the sorry state our community has instead inherited.

Doug Dwoyer retired from NASA Langley Research Center as associate director for operations. He is project director for the Hampton Roads Research Partnership. This article was originally published on March 1, 2009 in the Daily Press and is reprinted here by permission of the author.

NOTE: Outside of New Orleans, Hampton Roads is the largest population area at greatest risk from sea-level rise according to the US Geological Service. (Thieler, E.R., and Hammar-Klose, E.S., 1999. National assessment of coastal vulnerability to sea-level rise: Preliminary results for the U.S. Atlantic coast. U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 99-593).

From the Virginia Dept. of Environmental Quality; Click on map above for larger view.

Hampton Roads water projects get stimulus boost

More than $21 million in water-related projects — much of it river dredging and harbor upgrades — are among the improvements in greater Hampton Roads to be funded with economic stimulus money, officials announced this week.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which released a list of civil works projects, said funds should be available almost immediately.

"We intend to quickly put these dollars into action," said Maj. Gen. Merdith "Bo" Temple, deputy commanding general for Civil and Emergency Operations.

In all, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act has set aside $4.6 billion to the Corps for civil works projects around the country. Roughly two-thirds of that money goes for operation/maintenance or construction.

The Obama administration says the projects will create or keep about 57,400 direct jobs in the construction industry and another 64,000 jobs from firms that support or supply the construction business.

Included in the list is $868,000 for dredging Hampton Creek, restoring a 12-foot depth for barges and large commercial fishing vessels that have had difficulty navigating the area.

Various projects connected with the Norfolk harbor are slated to receive more than $10 million, including:

• $3 million for raising dikes at Craney Island as part of the dredged material management project
• $2.28 million to replace a spillway at Craney Island
• $2.03 million to construct breakwaters on the west shoreline of the Craney Island disposal facility to prevent continued erosion and improve water quality
• $130,000 to install safety rails and repair the Fort Norfolk sea wall
• $150,000 to repair storm damage to the Craney Island project office
• $950,000 to accomplish an environmental compliance initiative at Craney Island

In Smithfield, the Corps will spend $900,000 to dredge the Pagan River and restore the 6-foot maintenance depth. It serves the town of Smithfield and is used as a harbor of refuge and base of operations for Smithfield search and rescue.

For the Elizabeth River, $235,000 is set aside for construction of a wetlands restoration project in the drainage canal at Old Dominion University.

by Hugh Lessig of the Daily Press, excerpts from an article originally published on May 1, 2009

Chesapeake Bay Clean-up Investments in Hampton Roads

Governor Tim Kaine announced recently the issuance by the Virginia Resources Authority (VRA) of Clean Water Revolving Loan Fund Bonds to finance $186 million in wastewater treatment and sewer system infrastructure and upgrades statewide. VRA's total investment in nutrient removal for the Chesapeake Bay for FY 2007-09 in all programs now exceeds $810 million.

“The Commonwealth has dedicated more than $1 billion to cleaning up the Chesapeake Bay since the start of my term,” Governor Kaine said.

The Series 2009 bonds will support improvements to 13 wastewater treatment plants and associated infrastructure including those owned and operated by the Hampton Roads Sanitation District and the City of Newport News. The majority of the projects will provide system upgrades to reduce nutrient pollution being discharged into the tributaries that feed the Chesapeake Bay. Ultimately, the upgrades will enhance marine life and the overall health of the Bay.

Virginia, along with Maryland, Pennsylvania, the District of Columbia, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, are all signatories to the Chesapeake 2000 Agreement, which calls for each state to reduce by 40% the level of nutrients going into the Chesapeake Bay by 2010.

“A cleaner Chesapeake Bay and cleaner rivers will enhance the quality of life where Virginians live, work and play,” said Sheryl Bailey, Executive Director of the Virginia Resources Authority.

Hampton Roads Sanitation District – (three projects) --

1. The loan will fund upgrades at Nansemond Treatment Plant which will provide nutrient removal to meet the Commonwealth’s 2010 Chesapeake Bay regulations. This project is expected to receive funding from the Water Quality Improvement Fund and FY 2009 CWRLF funds.
2. The loan will also fund upgrades at James River Treatment Plant which will provide nutrient removal to meet the Commonwealth’s 2010 Chesapeake Bay regulations. This is an innovative treatment process, one of the first of its kind in the state.
3. And finally, the loan will provide for the design and installation of flow meters and pressure sensors at sites throughout Hampton Roads. This is part of the regional consent order to reduce sanitary sewer overflows.

Contact:
Bruce W. Husselbee, PE, Director of Engineering
757-460-7012
bhusselbee@hrsd.com

City of Newport News – The loan will provide for sanitary sewer upgrades and rehabilitation, as well as pump station renovation.

Contact:
Steve Williams, Senior Engineer
757-269-2493
swilliams@nngov.com

Balancing Industry and the Environment

From the Elizabeth River Project, a publication on how to achieve a "Win-Win" on the Industrial Waterfront, a A Guide to Sustainable Development Practices.