River Silt Gets Economic Attention

A growing chorus of Fredericksburg officials are asking that the city do something about the silt in the Rappahannock River. Joe Wilson, chair of the Economic Development Authority, added his voice to that call yesterday morning, telling a joint session of the EDA and the EDA Citizens Advisory Committee that the city needs to study how the silt could impact flooding in Fredericksburg. 

Wilson's remarks came during a presentation of the Clicking between slides Wilson showed the audience photographs of a silt-filled Rappahannock. Pausing at each photograph, he pointed out sandbars and channels where he estimates that the river is only 12 feet wide. He fears that some of the sandbars appear to be developing into islands, spouting trees and vegetation. 

Worse, Wilson said that the silt could pose an economic risk to the city of Fredericksburg if it exacerbates flood conditions in the city. 

"Why is this silt a problem? It's a problem because we don't know what impact this silt will have on our next 1942 flood," said Wilson. "A 1942 flood would set our economic development goals back decades."

Wilson's comments referenced the worst recorded river flooding the state of Virginia has ever experienced. In October of 1942, four days of heavy rains caused the central portion of the Rappahannock River to rise 24 feet above flood stage. The deluge caused millions in damages and inundated downtown Fredericksburg. That flood bore economic impacts too, with surrounding farms losing millions in crop damages. 

Wilson said that an effort to dredge the river should be a priority for the city and called for city leaders to lobby federal leaders for a study on the impact of the silt and flooding in Fredericksburg. However, Wilson said that he didn't want the Army Corps of Engineers to conduct the study, blaming them for failing to adequately dredge the silt from behind Embrey Dam prior to its demolition in 2004. 

"We need to get with our congressmen and senators about getting an initial study of what is the impact of all this," said Wilson. 

Wilson's call to study or dredge the Rappahannock could find a receptive audience at City Council which . At a recent council work session, City Manager Beverly Cameron said that dredging the river may require a mining permit from the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality. 

Cameron's discovery came as he was studying the feasibility of initiatives to be included on the next biennial goals and initiatives document, . During his research, Cameron learned that city staff had met with a number of state and local environmental officials who determined that dredging the river would constitute a mining operation. 

Considering the potential for bureaucratic opposition, Cameron had suggested that the council modify or eliminate the river dredging initiative from the biennial goals and initiatives document and replace it with efforts to restore and stabilize shore line. The council as a whole seemed disinterested in that, opting instead to conduct further research into the regulatory framework required of dredging operations, and if necessary, appealing to the state legislature for help.