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Commission debates oyster‑ground application off Willoughby Beach as Corps and city raise beach‑renourishment conflicts
Summary
An application for about 250 acres of oyster planting ground off Willoughby Beach drew protests from the City of Norfolk and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which said planned beach‑renourishment pump‑out locations could conflict with lease sites. Commissioners debated multiple motions but did not reach a straightforward approval.
An application to plant roughly 250 acres of oysters offshore from Willoughby Beach in the City of Norfolk prompted a contested public hearing June 24 and significant pushback from the city and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
VMRC staff presented application 2021016 (applicant Mark Johnson), a proposed on‑bottom planting ground roughly 430 feet off the Willoughby shoreline. Staff reported written protests from the City of Norfolk and the U.S. Army Corps, and identified no existing submerged aquatic vegetation or historical leases inside the proposed footprint. The City and Corps said the lease area overlaps planned pump‑out locations for Corps beach‑renourishment projects and would interfere with an authorized federal shore‑protection project.
Robert Pruse, chief of technical support for the Corps’ Norfolk District, said contractors will anchor dredges and run submerged pump‑out lines from the dredge to the beach as they construct the nourishment template, and those lines and…
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