CHESAPEAKE, Va. — With the newly signed Virginia state budget, $3.75 million will now go toward cleaning up a historically contaminated and polluted section of the Elizabeth River watershed.
In the southern branch of the Elizabeth River, sitting below the waters just above the Gilmerton Bridge, lies a layer of tar runoff and creosote leftover from an industrial lumber yard in the early 1900s.
The area, known as the 'Money Point' section of the river, is considered one of the most contaminated sections of the river system and Chesapeake Bay watershed overall.
“[Pollution] finds its way into the bottom of the river, then the base of the food chain," Joe Rieger with the Elizabeth River Project said. "Small fishes try to consume the small animals like worms, but they’re taking that pollution.”
Now, the newly signed state budget directs $3.75 million underneath the Marine Resources Commission to clean up the polluted section of the river, while carrying a federal match of $11.5 million previously requested by Congressman Bobby Scott.
The money is directed toward a partnership between the ERP and the Army Corps of Engineers to construct and remove the polluted sediment.
It's the third cleanup phase for Money Point in recent years, although this new section that will be cleaned up by the new funding is considered the most polluted of the area overall.
"In phase two, we removed 35 million tons of contaminated sediments," Rieger says. "We know this area is more contaminated than the previous area.”