March 25, 2009

(AP) - A state commission has approved plans to clean up a section of the Elizabeth River contaminated by toxic wastes from a former creosote plant.

Tuesday's unanimous vote by the Virginia Marine Resources Commission removed the last hurdle for the cleanup project.

Cleanup of the contaminated site off Money Point in Chesapeake will cost about $1.2 million.

The Elizabeth River Project says work should begin in June and
be completed by October.

A senior scientist with the environmental group says about 800 cubic yards will be dredged from an 8-acre site near the shoreline. Joe Rieger says organizers plan to build a 3.5-acre oyster reef and a 1.3-acre tidal marsh on top of river bottom that contains less concentrated pollutants.