ORMA News 2000
August 2000, ORMA News - No Wake Zone Extension Issue Looms. Dredging Bill in Senate
August 2000, New Route 123 Bridge Design Proposal
July 2000, July 28, 2000 - Extending the No-Wake Zone - Safety vs Convenience
June 2000, June 12, 2000 - County and Other Officials Meet Regarding the Occoquan
March 2000, March 28, 2000 - ORMA Association Report
August 2000 - No Wake Zone Extension Issue Looms. Dredging Bill in Senate
Due to the impending opening of the Belmont Bay Marina, ORMA sent out a request to all supporting members and yacht clubs for comment on the extension of the No Wake Zone. The marina is planning on opening by October. They are currently taking reservations for slips (703-497-0890), thus this issue will be upon us before long. The Chairman of the Prince William County Board of Supervisors is waiting for our recommendation on extending the no wake zone.
The issue is one of convenience vs safety. With another 120 boats using the Occoquan channel from this marina, the waters in the outer channel will be even more crowded and the possibility of an accident from the effects of high-peed passage and of large wakes of big boats on smaller craft and sailboats in the narrow channel is heightened. Contrasting this with the time that it takes to get out of the Occoquan to the river with an extended no wake zone will not make an extension popular to some boaters.
The feedback ORMA is receiving from the Yacht Clubs favors an extension of the no wake zone past Conrad Islands to marker 6 at the entrance to Belmont Bay, but only on weekends and holidays. On weekdays, the no wake would start approximately 100 yards out from where it is now at the Belmont Bay marina entrance. We are continuing to study the issue and would like to receive comments from any who are interested.
The $1M appropriation for dredging was passed by the House, thanks to the support of the Mayor of Occoquan, the supervisors of Prince William and Fairfax Counties, and the sponsorship of Congressman Tom Davis and work of his staff. The Energy and Water Bill, which contains the appropriation, also has apparently passed the Senate Appropriations Committee and is waiting for a full Senate floor vote at this time, but to date I have not been able to determine exactly what is in that bill. There is no prediction as to whether any dredging can take place as early as this Winter, but if the bill passes soon, we will try to get the Corps of Engineers moving on it. Several have suggested widening the channel, but it is mandated to be 100 ft wide and that is all that the Corps is obligated to do by the law which was passed over a century ago.
Finally we are delighted to announce that ORMA has a new web site at
www.ormaweb.org. Thanks to the generosity of Ned Rhodes, Software Systems
Group, who is providing free space on his company's server and the exceptional
web talents of Lizzie Kalweit, our webmistress, the web site has a new
look, lots of photos, and information - some of which is a little dated,
but that we will be updating soon. Thanks to Ned and Lizzie for the excellent
contribution to the Occoquan Community!
August, 2000 - New Route 123 Bridge Design Proposal
The new Route 123 bridge design offered by VDOT was designed to accommodate recommendations made by ORMA to the Town of Occoquan regarding the required height and width of the river channel. These considerations, along with the town's insistence on an aesthetic bridge that incorporated a number of requirements, resulted in this design. The federally mandated sound barrier, shown in blue, is still a controversial item.
The Occoquan Yacht Club respectfully submits an alternate proposal:
A Message from Jim Ball
July 28, 2000 - Extending the No-Wake Zone - Safety
vs Convenience
Hello All,
Commodores of FYC, PWYC, OYC and ORMA members
With the new Belmont Bay Marina to open in August, we are going to have to address the issue of extending the no wake zone and other issues related to the use of the Occoquan Channel.
First of all, we recognize it is going to have to be extended beyond its current position which is right at the entrance to the new marina. The question is how far? Very soon, the Prince William and Fairfax County Supervisors will be faced with this issue, and ORMA needs to be prepared with a well-coordinated recommendation.
Belmont Bay Marina will bring another 120 boats (including sailboats which will not be hindered by bridge heights) into the traffic pattern on the Occoquan. As much as many of us hate "putting" out to the no wake sign now, safety concerns are being raised concerning the ever increasing amount of boat traffic in the channel and the potential for accidents in the outer channel. The channel is narrow (100ft max) all the way past Konrad Islands to marker no 4 where there is finally enough water to break out of the channel into Occoquan Bay (for outbound traffic - inbound traffic cannot move right).
Most users of the channel do not slow down no matter what is in the channel - sailboats, small fishing boats, canoes, etc. It is a wonder that no one has been swamped or injured lately. While some of these small boaters could go to shallower waters to avoid wakes, they are not required to and most don't to. PWC's are another concern. For the most part, we who use the channel seem to just grin and bear the wake issue, not wanting to extend the no wake any further.
ORMA is asking for its member Yacht Clubs to consider the safety issues involved, poll their membership, and make a recommendation about how far to extend the no wake zone. We may have to have a meeting or two on this issue, but the time to start is now before somebody else who may not even be a boater makes the decision for us.
Commodores, please poll your membership, bring it to your board for a recommendation, and get back to me with your recommendation by August 15th if possible. Comments from other ORMA members, particularly business owners, Coast Guard Auxiliary, Power Squadron, and Public Safety members are also welcomed.
Thanks, Jim
Occoquan River Maritime Association Report
June 12, 2000 - County and Other Officials Meet Regarding the Occoquan
On Monday, June 12th, Fairfax County Supervisor Elaine McConnell hosted a meeting on Occoquan River issues with 35 other Prince William and Fairfax County supervisors, the Occoquan Mayor and Council members, VDOT representatives, Park and Water Authorities, Congressional Staff, and other government officials in attendance. The agenda addressed the clean up and dredging of the Occoquan River and the Route 123 Bridge replacement over the Occoquan.
First on the agenda was a general clean up of the river. Occoquan Regional Park and Fairfax County Water Authority Officials agreed to survey and take measures to clean up debris and evaluate silt accumulations on the shores adjoining their property. They may need some volunteer assistance with some of this, and ORMA will help coordinate this if necessary. Unfortunately, the Army Corps of Engineers were invited, but did not attend the meeting and thus issues related to general clean up of the river that they may have responsibility for had to be tabled.
Dredging was discussed, but without the Army Corps of Engineers in attendance, discussions were disadvantaged. However, Barnaby Harkins, from Congressman Tom Davis' office told the group that things were going well in requesting an appropriation in the Energy and Water Bill for this year (FY 2001) to provide funding for maintenance dredging. The support by the Prince William County Supervisors, the Town of Occoquan, and VDOT for dredging put the Congressman's office in a good position to request Corps assistance and justify appropriations. Supervisor McConnell also asked Fairfax County Executive Tony Griffin to assist with getting a letter from Fairfax County to also support the dredging. Harkins indicated that an appropriation in FY 2001 would get the Corps started, but probably would not get the dredging accomplished until next year (winter of 2001-2002). He also indicated that silting issues caused by storm sewer and other drainage into the Occoquan may likely be included in the overall maintenance dredging in addition to the main channel.
It also looks like the Occoquan Bridge will be a very nice looking structure with the required clearance for the channel. VDOT presented some very attractive artist conceptual designs at the meeting that are complementary to the town's ambiance - except for one issue - the sound barrier wall that may be required, and still remains an issue. VDOT is being cooperative and it was great to see all of these elected and public officials from both counties supporting the Town of Occoquan and ORMA's goals as well with regard to the bridge and the reestablishment of the Port of Occoquan.
Although we are not getting immediate results on dredging, we are very pleased that we have accomplished this much in so little time. This large meeting of all the right players (except the Corps) was a direct result of bringing our county representatives together at the Blessing of the Fleet on the VIP boat. It was the first time that some council members of both county supervisor groups had met each other, and it was all focusing on our River! ORMA will continue to work with the Town Council of Occoquan to keep the momentum going, and Supervisor McConnell plans to hold another hearing with the Corps of Engineers to address the unresolved issues.
Thanks to all who have generously given of their time to ORMA to get us this far, and to our elected officials of both counties (and especially Supervisor McConnell for her leadership), the Town of Occoquan, and to Congressman Tom Davis and his staff for their outstanding support!
March 2000
The month of March brought ORMA progress on several fronts.
On March 7th, Jim Henry, Mayor Pat Conway and Council Member Bobbie Frank of Occoquan, and I met with Congressman Tom Davis' staff members to discuss actions necessary to move forward on dredging of the Occoquan channel. We are moving forward to get the support of the Prince William County Supervisors on this matter, and Congressman Davis' staff has initiated discussions with the Corps of Engineers. Because the Occoquan is a designated channel, the process can fall under the auspices of maintenance dredging, simplifying the regulatory issues. Many thanks to Jim Henry and Mayor Pat Conway for their leadership.
Correspondence on ORMA and the initiative to reestablish the Port of Occoquan was sent to the Virginia administrator for the Boating Infrastructure Grants program to acquaint him with the objectives to establish transient docks in the Occoquan. We are also investigating the possibility of channeling the proceeds from the State lawsuit against Lorton sewage dumping in the Occoquan to the Town of Occoquan to assist in restoring the waterfront.
The Blessing of the Fleet planning continues toward the event to be held on May 7th. The blessing will take place in Occoquan Bay from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Participants are encouraged to take a trip up the river to the Town of Occoquan to show their support for the Town's initiative to reestablish its port for recreational boating.
Thanks to a presentation by Tom Coldwell, the Chesapeake Bay Yacht Clubs Association, representing yacht clubs in the entire bay region (Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland and Virginia) is sending a letter of support for ORMA's initiatives.
The Occoquan River Maritime Association (ORMA) is a civic organization representing the commercial and recreational users of the Occoquan River. We still can use helpful volunteers in all of the ORMA committees. If you are interested in helping, please let me know. If you want to know more about these and other similar kinds of issues in detail, subscribe to the ORMA e-mail list. Just send a request via e-mail to auxop@usa.net.