by Jackie Nunnery
FT. MONROE—Following a public hearing on Tuesday, February 24, the Virginia Marine Resources Commission (VMRC) voted 8-0 to provide $2.6 million in emergency funding from the Waterway Maintenance Grant Program to dredge the federal navigation channel of the Little Wicomico River. The funding is contingent upon the approval of the Joint Permit Application currently under review.
According to Jerry Davis, executive director of the Northern Neck Planning District Commission (NNPDC), which has been managing the Northern Neck Shallow Draft Dredging Plan, they applied for emergency funding through VMRC because a delay would represent a potential loss of life, total river closure and an economic collapse of the area. He noted that Smith Point Sea Rescue has been forced on multiple occasions to take much longer routes because the channel was impassable. Local marinas, watermen and seafood processors also….
