WHEREAS, since 1607, when the first settlers arrived in the new world, working waterfronts have been among the most important commercial centers, driving economic growth not only in the Commonwealth but along the entire eastern seaboard; and

WHEREAS, there are approximately 600 working waterfronts in Virginia, supporting large and small commercial fishing, shipbuilding and repair, scientific marine research, export and import, recreational boating, and maritime transportation; and

WHEREAS, in 2012, the Commonwealth was the third largest producer of marine products in the United States, including almost $37 million worth of hard clams and oysters and an annual recreational boating impact between $1.2 billion and $2.9 billion; and

WHEREAS, in 2013, the Port of Virginia accounted for an economic impact of more than $60 billion and sustained 374,000 jobs or 9.4 percent of employment in the Commonwealth; and

WHEREAS, working waterfronts in the Commonwealth are severely threatened by decline in water quality, land and water conflicts, an aging workforce, rising sea levels, storm events, land subsidence, shoaling of navigable channels, and changes in the global economy; and

WHEREAS, in an effort to protect, restore, and enhance working waterfronts in the Commonwealth, the 2016 Virginia's Working Waterfronts Master Plan contains a series of specific recommended actions for the federal government, the General Assembly, the Governor, the Virginia Port Authority, state agencies, coastal planning district commissions, and local governments; and

WHEREAS, the Working Waterfronts Master Plan also contains provisions for educating members of the public on the importance of waterfronts, expanding small ports and harbors, and creating succession plans to ensure the continuation of marine businesses; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, the Senate concurring, That the 2016 Virginia's Working Waterfronts Master Plan be supported; and, be it

RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates transmit a copy of this resolution to the Department of Environmental Quality, requesting that the agency further disseminate copies of this resolution to their respective constituents so that they may be apprised of the sense of the General Assembly of Virginia in this matter.