Tuesday, September 12, 2006
In the most recent obstacle in a morass of negotiations that have stretched for over 24 years, local citizens’ groups have again challenged the university’s plans to build a boathouse on the Potomac. This most recent setback follows an environmental assessment by the National Park Service which determined that the boathouse would incur a ‘light-to-moderate’ environmental impact on the river. The Potomac Conservancy, one of several groups that have contested the boathouse plans on environmental grounds, is calling on the NPS to conduct a more detailed Environmental Impact Survey, claiming that the NPS assessment did not take into account potential changes to the quality and flow of water in the Potomac that the proposed boathouse could generate. While environmental concerns shouldn’t be taken lightly, Georgetown has worked tirelessly through this protracted process to address issues raised by citizens groups like the Potomac Conservancy, and the recent NPS report should speak with finality on the matter. Unfortunately, it seems that such groups have increasingly set forth spurious claims with the aim of obtaining results which favor their own interests. Before construction of the boathouse can begin, the university still needs to secure the land obtained from the NPS through a land-exchange agreement in which the university’s land would be exchanged for the boathouse plot. This negotiation must receive congressional approval, and requires a 120-day review period before the university can even apply for building permits. The boathouse plans are still a very long way from realization, but these opposition groups, which also include the C&O Canal Association and the Washington Canoe Club, must put their own interests aside, accept the authority of the NPS report and allow the university to finally get started on a project long in the works. As of June, the university had secured 3,253 signatures from students and community members on a petition in support of the boathouse. Hopefully, the students who added their names to this petition will not have to wait another 24 years to see the boathouse plans come to fruition.