Latest News . . .is good!

The Sierra Club, Mattaponi Tribe and the Alliance to Save the Mattaponi are happy to say there will be no permit for water withdrawal from the Mattaponi River in Virginia. The Army Corps of Engineers met June 4 with Newport News Waterworks and Congressman Bateman to say they will not be granting the permit for the King William Reservoir on the Peninsula.

They gave three reasons:

• Newport News did not demonstrate the need for the project and had overestimated their demand numbers;
• the mitigation for the taking of 440 acres of wetlands could not be properly mitigated by man-made wetlands, and
• the saltwater intrusion upstream would harm the shad fishery and the Mattaponi Tribe.

Thank you all for the letters to the Corps and your support! Two years of fighting backed down a plan in the making for 12 years.

From Earlier Postings . . .

The Mattaponi People have lived on the river that bears our name for thousands of years. We are the direct decendants of the great Chief Powhatan, father of Pocahontas. Since European settlement at Jamestown, much of our history and our language have been lost because we were forced into the mainstream of society. Despite this, we still have our treaty, our Reservation, and much of our culture. It is tragic that at a time when the Mattaponi People and other Indian people of Virginia are working to regain our culture and traditions, Newport News would be pushing hard for the King William Reservoir. This project threatens our traditional shad fishing and would flood Indian cultural sites and graves; land that is sacred to us.

The Mattaponi People live on one of the two oldest Reservations in the U.S. It was established in 1658 and encompassed thousands of acres of land, which through the years has dwindled to a mere 150 acres. Newport News wants to build a 1500 acre reservoir by diverting up to 75 million gallons of water a day from the Mattaponi River - into Cohoke Creek on the Pamunkey River. This $350 million dollar project would have widespread environmental impacts, threatening two endangered species of plants and disturbing nesting bald eagles, while destroying 1500 acres of forest, including 437 acres of irreplacable wetlands. The Mattaponi River and Reservation are our life. If this River is destroyed, we have no where else to go. We are the people of the river, and we have no alternative but to fight this reservoir.

The Mattaponi people are calling on Indian People throughout the United States and Virginia and all others who support our cause to return with us to Jamestown, Virginia on May 15th as we begin a symbolic journey on a Trail of Hope.

Carl Custalow
Assistant Chief of the Mattaponi Indian Tribe

Presented by:
Mattaponi Indian Reservation/ Mattaponi Heritage Foundation

History

The City of Newport News and the Coalition of Lower Peninsula Jurisdictions have entered into an agreement with King William County officials to construct a 1,550 acre reservoir which is adjacent to the Mattaponi Indian Reservation in King William County, Va.

The proposed reservoir will flood more than 1500 acres of land and destroy more than 500 acres of wetlands. There are more than 140 historic and prehistoric camps and 112 Native American Indian sites that would be flooded. Fewer than 1/4 of the affected Indian archeological sites would be excavated before being destroyed forever.

The city of Newport News plans to sell this water to the residents in the lower jurisdiction. By their own admission, Newport News does not need the water and will not need the water until the year 2040.

In order to supply water to this reservoir, Newport News is planning on building a pumping station just up river from the Mattaponi Indian Reservation on the Mattaponi River. This pumping station will be designed to pump 75 million gallons a day from the Mattaponi River. The water pumped from the river will be pipelined 6 miles to the reservoir and from there it will be gravity fed through a pipeline to Newport News which is 60 miles away.

The Mattaponi Tribe feels that if this project is completed it will affect us environmentally, culturally and economically. The environmental impact will result from the flooding of over 1500 acres of upland forest and the destruction of over 500 acres of wetlands. This would be the largest destruction of wetlands in Virginia's history.

Culturally we will be affected because over 100 Native American sites will be destroyed where the proposed reservoir would go. At the present time the Tribe is trying to acquire additional land for expansion to give more of our Tribal people the opportunity to move back to the Reservation and if this proposed reservoir goes through we will be landlocked due to the fact that land values will increase to the point where the Tribe will not be able to afford them. If we were to become landlocked it would eventually mean the demise of the Tribe. The pumping of 75 million gallons of water a day from the Mattaponi River would cause the salinity to increase thus destroying the bloodline of this Reservation which is the Mattaponi River.

Economically, by destroying the river it would greatly affect the income of the members of the Reservation as many of them make their living on the river. The Tribe also runs a Shad Hatchery on the Mattaponi River both for substinance and to restore the Shad stock in the Mattaponi River for future generations. If the city of Newport News pumps up to 75 million gallons a day and the salinity increases then the Shad will no longer come into the river every spring to spawn.

The ecosystem surrounding the Reservation is crucial to the Mattaponi Tribe's continued existence. A large amount of our food supply comes from fishing, much of which is caught in the Shad and Herring runs in the spring. The Tribal members also survive on other fish such as catfish, rockfish, perch and carp as well as game such as deer, ducks and geese. More than 60 medicinal and edible plants are on or surround the Reservation and are invaluable to the Mattaponi People. Our people have lived by hunting, fishing and gathering on the Mattaponi River for thousands of years and still today we depend on the natural ecosystem that surrounds our Reservation. We fear the intrusion of increased salinity levels will destroy an already depleted Shad supply and destroy the natural habitat for freshwater plants and animals.

Massive development so close to our Reservation will also create privacy problems for the Tribe because of the excessive traffic. Usually when overdevelopment occurs in an area, the general public can sell their homes and move to a quieter environment if they choose. The Mattaponi Tribe cannot do this. We cannot move a Reservation, as our land is in trust with the State and we cannot sell it and we would not sell even if we could. These are our roots, our heritage and our culture since the dawn of time.

We feel that Newport News has other alternatives such as desalination, conservation, groundwater use and if they should outgrow these options they they need to better manage their resources and control the growth in their area. Newport News has wastewater treatment plants now which are pumping 72 million gallons of water a day into the James River that could be processed and reused just as Northern Virginia is doing today. Why destroy one of the most pristine rivers on the East Coast?

Newport News has argued that they will need 40 million additional gallons of water per day by the year 2040. Three independent studies have been completed, one of which was done by the Corps of Engineers, and all three maintain that the city of Newport News would need less than half of what they had predicted in their Environmental Impact Statement. This would lead one to believe that Newport News' ultimate goal is to use this water for sale overseas. World Bank's expert John Haywood, in the journal of commerce stated "the water would be moved around the world as oil is now, . . . within 5 years we will see the rising recognition that water is an international commodity." The Environmental Protection Agency has recognized the incompleteness of Newport News' study and has requested that a supplement be done on their Environmental Impact Study. To date the Corps of Engineers has not requested Newport News to do this supplement.

On December 16, 1997 the State Water Control Board issued a permit for Newport News to pump water from the Mattaponi River. Many Restrictions were placed on the permit by the State Water Control Board prior to the issuance. Newport News did not like the restrictions placed on the permit, thus they have filed suit against the State Water Control Board to have these restrictions removed. Newport News is contending that with these restrictions it would not be feasible for them to complete this project because they would not be able to make enough money from the water to justify the construction.

The Mattaponi Indian Tribe has also filed suit against the State Water Control Board because we feel that the State water Control Board issued this permit without considering the detrimental impact it would have on the survival of the Tribe. Several other environmental groups and the county of King and Queen have also filed suit against the Board for issuing this permit.

This case was heard in the Newport News Circuit Court on June 30 and July 1. On June 30 the proceedings revolved around the State maintaining that they were entitled to Sovereign Immunity and could not be sued. Newport News argued, as well as several environmental groups and the Tribe that they were not entitled to Sovereign Immunity in this situation. On July 1 during the proceedings the Tribe argued that the Reservoir was in violation of our 1677 Treaty which provided a 3 mile buffer zone around our Reservation. Both Newport News and the State argued that the 3 mile buffer zone did not apply and that it was a temporary remedy for the situation back in the 1600's. Judge Robert Curran took the case under advisement and stated that he would render his decision on August 7, 1998.

On August 7, 1998, Judge Robert Curran ruled against the Mattaponi Indian Tribe saying that his court was not the proper place to deal with the Tribes claim that the state permit would violate a 321 year old Treaty and federal civil rights laws. The Tribe is very disappointed with the ruling but mostly with the fact that Judge Curran gave no reasons why he ruled the way that he did. His three page ruling offered no explanation at all for the ruling and that is particularly frustrating. The attorney's are now meeting with the Tribe to decide whether or not to appeal to the Supreme Court of Virginia.

The Tribe feels that Newport News has inaccurately portrayed a need for water in their Environmental Impact Statement. Several independent studies have indicated inaccuracies in many areas of the Environmental Impact Statement. The Tribe feels that there are viable alternatives for Newport News' water needs and they should be used prior to destroying one of the most pristine rivers on the East Coast and one of the oldest Indian Reservations in the United States.

This update is provided as a brief overview of the events that have transpired thus far. It is provided to those who share our concern about the environment and the future of the Mattaponi Indian Tribe.

We are truly in a "David and Goliath" situation, with the big city of Newport News spending millions of dollars to fight our small Tribe. But we are confident that with the concern and support of people like yourself we can win this battle and save our Reservation (one of only 2 Reservations in the state of Virginia and one of the oldest in the entire United States).