More money to cleanup toxins in Money Point

NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) — An egret flies high over Knitting Mill Creek a day after Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin helped to right a centuries-old wrong in the southern branch of the Elizabeth River.

Monday, with the governor’s signature, $3.7 million in state dollars will be paired with $11.2 million in federal funds to help with creosote cleanup in the Elizabeth River.

“So the Southern Branch of the Elizabeth River had many creosote factories and this creosote was used and then put it on wood,” said Joe Rieger, project manager and lead scientist for the Elizabeth River Project. “It was a tar product and before the Clean Water Act, a lot of that material found its way to the bottom of the river. And what would happen is it would cause cancer in the fish on the bottom of the river.”

Last month, 10 On Your Side showed the governor plans to clean up 25 acres known as Money Point. The governor was in Norfolk to visit a private school in the Park Place Community.

“Well, first, I’m going to go do my homework, like I do on everything, and get very familiar with this project, and then we’ll work to see how best to support it,” Youngkin said,

The Elizabeth River Project, along with other organizations and volunteers, have spent the past 20 years cleaning up creosote.

“So the scientists told us decades ago that until we cleaned Elizabeth’s bottom, the contamination that’s pooled there, the ecosystem would not recover,” said Majorie Mayfield Jackson, executive director for the Elizabeth River Project. “So this is one of the major sites that is contributing to ill-health in the Elizabeth River. And as we clean it up, the ecosystem recovers. We’ve already seen that in the earlier phases of the cleanup, and we’ve seen eagles and otters and even sea horses.”

The Army Corps of Engineers will spearhead the final phase of the cleanup project. There’s optimism that progress at Money Point could chart a new course for the city of Chesapeake.

“Well, there will be fish jumping and otters swimming and happy people along the shore, including a healthier shoreline for economic recovery as well,” Mayfield Jackson said.

The next major cleanup for the Elizabeth River Project is a six-acre site area called Scuffle Town Creek, located under the Jordan Bridge.

For more information on how to get involved in the cleanup process, contact the Elizabeth River Project by sending email to Jessica Pinsky, jpinsky@elizabethriver.org.

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