The Wharf’s neighbor, Fort McNair, wants to create a marked zone that will take up up to a third of the canal along the base to protect military assets. The plan has sparked a reprimand from boaters, neighbors and elected leaders in DC arguing that the proposed restriction would be unnecessarily overreach.
At the request of Fort McNair, the US Army Corps of Engineers, which is responsible for the maintenance of the country’s navigable waterways, suggests a circumference that extends up to 150 meters at its widest point. Watercraft could pass in this zone but would be “prohibited from mooring, mooring or loitering”.
Officials said the zone would create a safety buffer between aquatic activities and military operations, including the homes of senior military officers. No other military base with access to water in the country’s capital has such a restriction on its coastlines.
Critics say the zone would threaten progress in recent years to make the waters more accessible to residents and visitors, while violating the wharf, where access to water is a major attraction. They argue that restrictions could also lead to unsafe conditions by pushing kayakers and motorboaters in tight spaces like water taxis and river cruise ships.
“This proposed measure is unnecessary,” wrote DC Councilor Charles Allen (D-Ward 6) in a November letter to the Corps of Engineers urging the plan to be withdrawn. Allen, whose district includes the Southwest Waterfront and Fort McNair, said the base and Corps of Engineers should “consider other options to meet security needs without making permanent use of public space.”
The water next to Fort McNair is the only connection to the Potomac River for shipping coming from three marinas in the Washington Channel. The canal has approximately 430 boat slides, while 135 more are slated to be completed in March 2022. The canal’s calm waters, parallel to the Potomac River, are used by kayakers, paddle boarders, and sailboats.
Located between the Southwest Waterfront to the east and East Potomac Park to the west, the Washington Channel has been around since the Wharf opened in 2017, a $ 2.5 billion development that spans the city’s smallest quadrant through luxury housing, retail and shopping fine dining has changed, become more popular, and waterfront entertainment.
New water taxis connect the neighborhood to Georgetown, National Harbor and Old Town Alexandria. American Cruise Lines brought its 175-passenger ship to the Wharf two years ago as part of a 10-day American Revolution cruise that departs from Baltimore via Chesapeake Bay. There are luxurious motor yachts in the marinas.
Traffic on the canal has more than doubled in recent years. On a December weekend, boats in festive holiday colors sailed near the coast of Fort McNair, home of the US Army Military District headquarters in Washington, the National Defense University and the US Army Deputy Chief of Staff.
The National War College building and the officers’ quarters can be seen from the water.
Military officials did not list any specific security concerns that prompted the request, but the official notice for the proposed restriction highlights the security needs for Marine Helicopter Squadron missions and the “protection of VIP quarters.”
“The US Army is demanding limited restrictions on the loitering, mooring and anchoring of watercraft along the Fort McNair boardwalk to ensure safety along the Washington Channel levee in line with the rest of the facility,” the army spokesman said. Col. Rob Phillips. “This requirement, as proposed, would not prohibit or restrict transit, including fishing, through the restricted area.”
Under the proposal, boats would be able to move through the restricted area, but would be prohibited from stopping in these waters. Fishermen would need permission from Fort McNair to fish in the area.
The Corps of Engineers set up buoys to mark an area that extends 75 to 150 meters into the canal at various points. According to the Corps of Engineers, the width of the canal at this point varies between 275 and 330 meters.
The widest part of the exclusion zone would be closest to the quay and would take up about a third of the canal. The zone would narrow as it moved south.
Under pressure from city officials, the Army Corps of Engineers agreed last month to extend the comment deadline on the proposal, which was due to expire on November 12. The Washington Military District agreed to a public session held by DC Del. Eleanor was requested from Holmes Norton (D).
Christopher Fincham, a spokesman for the Army Corps of Engineers, said a date for a public session has not yet been set and a 30-day extension of the comment period will be posted on the Federal Register shortly. So far the reaction has been largely against the establishment of the zone.
Norton said earlier this month the army planned to hold the public hearing after the president’s inauguration on Jan. 20. She hopes for a “thorough discussion of the possible consequences for setting restrictions in the channel,” which is increasingly a source of tax revenue for the district.
The Army Corps of Engineers’ proposal is a revised version of a plan that would have banned shipping near the coast of Fort McNair. This more restrictive plan was changed under pressure from members of Congress and opposition from neighboring communities.
Reps Peter A. DeFazio (D-Ore.), Chairman of the House Transportation Committee responsible for the Army Corps of Engineers, and Norton, who led Congress’s efforts to revitalize the DC Waterfront, expressed concern that a no The go zone would force all water traffic into a narrow passage in the canal.
Opponents fear the current proposal, which would allow boats to sail in the water near the base, would have similar effects to the original plan.
“If I see a buoy with anything on it that remotely indicates US government property, I’ll stay away from it,” said Darryl Madden, a boater who has lived in the Wharf’s gangplank marina for 15 years.
The Corps of Engineers referred to the printed notice in the Federal Register when questioned about the proposal. According to the notice, “any person, ship, or other vehicle is prohibited from anchoring, mooring, or loitering in the restricted area without permission from the Commander, Myer Henderson Hall / Fort McNair Joint Base, or its designated agents.”
The restriction would exist around the clock. Boating would be banned in the area at events such as the State of the Union Speech, state funerals, presidential inaugurations, and naval helicopter squadron missions.
Allen said that while watercraft would be allowed through the area, it would “likely discourage water users from even entering the restricted area”.
“The proposed narrowing would likely still force kayaks, stand-up paddleboards, and recreational boats into the same space as water taxis and river cruise ships,” he said. “The narrowing would also likely dramatically hinder sailing in the canal.”
The Washington Navy Yard and Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling, which also have access to DC waters, have no exclusion zones on their coasts.
Local guides and boaters are also questioning a plan to designate the DC Police Port Police as the enforcement agency for the restricted area. They say the unit has limited resources and its primary role is to ensure safe transit and recreation on the district’s waterways.
Army spokesman Phillips said enforcement would be a matter for local authorities.
“If approved, the assessment of potential violations and rule enforcement is at the sole discretion of civil law enforcement agencies, identical to the current process in the District of Columbia land adjacent to the facility,” he said.
DC police declined to comment on the details of the proposal. Police spokeswoman Alaina Gertz said in a statement that the department “continues to work with our local and federal partners to enforce laws on DC waterways; However, we cannot comment further on this proposal as it has not yet been finalized. “
An exclusion zone could create a logistical nightmare for popular water events at the Wharf, which draws 10 million visitors annually and generates about $ 50 million in tax revenue for the city each year, said Patrick Revord, director of technology, marketing and engagement for the Wharf community .
One of those events is the annual Parade of Lights, a popular holiday event that in non-pandemic years draws thousands of spectators with up to 70 boats lit up in the holiday mood. The participating boats queue up at the base in the waters until they get to the water parade on the quay.
Revord said the proposed restriction would also affect marina residents – up to 300 people live in 181 boats at Wharf Marina and Capital Yacht Club – as well as the operation of recreational and commercial boats that visit the waterfront. More than 322,000 people took water taxis to and from the wharf in 2019, and Revord estimates that recreational boaters have at least 20,000 visitors annually.
He said new warning signs would confuse visitors and beginners on the way to the Potomac.
“There’s only one way out of the quay,” he said. “You have to go this way.”