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Wed December 15, 2004 - Northeast Edition
FREDERICKSBURG, VA (AP) The contractor dismantling the former Embrey Dam has the go-ahead from state regulators to change a key part of the project.
National Salvage and Service Corp., of Bloomington, IN, can build a causeway over the Rappahannock River using a series of culverts, instead of a temporary bridge originally proposed in a permit granted to Fredericksburg in 2002.
The Virginia Marine Resources Commission approved the change at its monthly meeting in Newport News recently.
A company official has said that the culverts would provide a better platform for heavy equipment, while still allowing the river to flow through.
The state Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) also has approved the plan, said Joan Crowther, who handles water-protection permits for the agency’s Northern Virginia office.
“There are just some other little things we need to be kept abreast of on how they are going to remove the dam,” she said.
For instance, DEQ wants to know how the remnants of the historic Rappahannock Canal locks on the riverbank will be shored up. The state also wants assurances that all dam debris will be removed.
Capping a 10-year effort by an unusual coalition of government agencies and environmental groups, Embrey Dam was breached with explosives on Feb. 23.
The blast created a 130-ft. hole along the base of the 770-ft.-long dam, allowing the Rappahannock to flow free for the first time since the mid-1800s. But thousands of tons of concrete remain. Part of that will be crushed and used to create the temporary causeway; the rest will be hauled to a nearby disposal area.
National Salvage began work on the last phase of the dam-removal project in September, cutting a road to the dam from the Fredericksburg shoreline. In November, heavy equipment began dismantling part of the abutment and pulling apart the heavy concrete bays that make up the main structure.
Work then stopped as the project approached the river channel affected by the permit.
Before work can resume, Fredericksburg and Stafford County need to approve erosion and sediment control plans and a stormwater-pollution prevention plan must be submitted.
“We are aware of the time constraints, and we’re doing everything in our power to get [the contractor] back to work,” said Doug Fawcett, Fredericksburg’s public works director.
National Salvage wants to wrap up the demolition by the end of February because no work is allowed on the river between March 1 and June 30 when migratory fish make their spring spawning runs.
On Monday, Nov. 22, the U.S. Senate approved $1.25 million to complete the $10 million removal of Embrey Dam. The project is overseen by the Army Corps of Engineers. If it proceeds as planned, the job could be finished by mid-2005. After the dam is removed, the riverbank will replanted and stabilized.