FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 7, 2008

Contact:

USS Saratoga Museum Foundation, Inc.    Frank Lennon (401) 831-8696

At the 11th hour, however, conflicting interpretations of regulations by two state agencies threaten to derail the project, despite the economic and education benefits this development would provide. After working through normal channels without success, the Foundation has sought help from the General Assembly to transcend this dilemma.

The problem: Waters of the Narragansett Bay adjacent to the Quonset/Davisville piers are classified differently by two State agencies. This conflict between Coastal Resources Management Council (CRMC) and Department of Environmental Management (DEM) is apparently not new, and it has the potential to slow other initiatives as well.

These differences may be constraints to waterfront development at the site...There is no correlation between the CRMC Water Type designation and the water quality [designation by DEM]... Each designation originated differently using different criteria.
-- The 2003 Master Plan for Quonset/Davisville

Foundation President Frank Lennon says, "We now have an opinion from CRMC that our proposed use is too clean for waters they feel should be reserved for heavy industrial activity, while DEM is concerned that our use may not be clean enough for waters they have classified as suitable for 'shellfishing and suitable water contact recreation'. The problem is, we're talking about exactly the same water."

Identical bills have been introduced into the Senate and House which would resolve this issue and declare the siting of Saratoga at Davisville to be a permitted use. The House version (H8208) was introduced by Representative Kenneth Carter (D-Exeter, North Kingstown), while the Senate version (S3000) was sponsored by Senators Michael Lenihan (D-East Greenwich, Warwick, North Kingstown); Charles Levesque (D-Bristol, Portsmouth); and Majority Leader M. Teresa Paiva-Weed (D-Newport, Jamestown).

One crucial point: the legislation does not request any funding from the State.

The bill would make moot the conflicting opinions from CRMC and DEM, and direct Quonset Development Corporation to lease the space needed, assuming all necessary permits and access issues are resolved and the Navy completed its pending donation of the retired aircraft carrier.

Passage would clear bureaucratic, not environmental, hurdles. The bill would still require the project to obtain a Water Quality Certification from the Department of Environmental Management, a federal dredge permit from the Army Corps of Engineers, and the final approval of the Navy.

"The Navy won't donate the ship unless they are convinced that we can safely moor the ship to withstand the 100-year storm, and at the same time meet all environmental requirements," explained Bill Sheridan, Deputy Executive Director of the Saratoga effort. "They also have to be convinced we have the funding needed to successfully complete and operate the project.

"The cornerstone of our funding is a $6.5 million federal loan guarantee which is due to expire on September 30," says Lennon. "In order to get that deadline extended, we need to show the federal government that the State of Rhode Island supports and wants this project.

"Time is running out," he adds. "It would be a shame to lose such an influx of federally-backed dollars into the RI economy during these difficult financial times."

Laying the groundwork for legislative action was an ongoing process. "We identified key stakeholders and met with them one-on-one," Lennon explained. "We described the details of our proposal and the benefits it would bring to the residents of Rhode Island, and tried to enlist their support."

One such benefit is the job training potential Saratoga offers, covering marine trades and a number of other technical disciplines. The ship's fully-equipped and functional galleys also offer unsurpassed opportunities for culinary classes and institutional feeding instruction. Recognizing the value of these vocational assets, Congress appropriated $282,000 in this year's federal budget to get these workforce development programs off the ground.

This funding could sustain long-term job training efforts with benefits to organized labor. As a result, Lennon and other Saratoga supporters met with George Nee, Secretary-Treasurer of the Rhode Island AFL-CIO to explain their plans and to describe the project's permitting dilemma.

"We were also able to show that our presence at Davisville would not interfere with any plans labor had for further industrial development at Quonset," said Lennon. "The labor leaders agreed that the most expeditious way to break the bureaucratic impasse would be through special legislation--which they have committed to support."

"Like the AFL-CIO, the USS Saratoga is a symbol of patriotism and strength," says Mr. Nee. "We welcome the chance to help bring such an economic asset to the state. This project creates jobs, brings more dollars into our struggling economy, and directly adds more than a million dollars a year in new tax revenues to the cash-strapped state treasury. It also makes productive use out of an area of Davisville that no one else has expressed an interest in since the base closed.

"Working together, we can help create a better world for our members, our families and the community as a whole," he concluded.

Former Congressman Bob Weygand, who chairs the Saratoga board of trustees, declared, "Action by the General Assembly to eliminate those administrative inconsistencies is appropriate. It will ensure the many public benefits of this project are not lost to the State and its residents, and it will also encourage the continuation of corporate and other private financial support."

The legislation would still require the project to meet federal and state environmental standards. "Over the years, we have had a great working relationship with Save the Bay and other environmental organizations," said Lennon. "In drafting this legislation, we wanted to make sure we did not endanger those relationships by trying to get our project exempted from reasonable environmental requirements."

Lennon reiterated that the basic purpose of the legislation is to cut the Gordian knot of conflicting direction the Foundation has received from CRMC and DEM. "We sympathize with the hard-working staff of these agencies, who are working diligently to interpret and enforce the regulations they have been given," adds Lennon. "Unfortunately for us, those regulations seem to conflict, and there appears to be no other way to solve this problem in a timely manner.

Catalyst for the appeal to the General Assembly was the Foundation's growing sense that the success or failure of their effort might be determined by matters outside their control, especially the initial determination by the Coastal Resources Management Council that mooring an aircraft carrier at Quonet/Davisville was not a "permitted use" in those waters.

Foundation leadership sought legal counsel, as well as advice from a number of trusted and respected advisors. The consensus was that special legislation offered the only reasonable chance of resolution prior to the September 30 deadline.

Further adding to the time pressure, Saratoga officials also recently learned that the Coddington Cove pier in Middletown, where the aircraft carrier and her sister ship Forrestal are now berthed, is about to be condemned. The deteriorating condition of the pier has put additional pressure on the Navy to quickly determine the disposition of the ships moored there; the decision has already been made to take Forrestal to sea and sink her.

"This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity for the citizens of Rhode Island," argues Lennon. "This potential economic and educational engine has literally floated into our lives, and it would be a shame to throw it away."

The proposed bills have garnered support from organized labor, the education community and other interest groups. Earlier this month, the host community of North Kingstown weighed in with a unanimous Town Council Resolution reiterating support for the Saratoga development at Davisville, and specifically endorsing the pending legislation.

Johan Uvin, State Director of the Office of Adult, Career and Technical Education also expressed his support. "Ideas currently under consideration by the USS Saratoga Museum Foundation, such as a Skilled Trades Academy for youngsters and adults aboard the ship, a Green Technology Academy and other programs that require participants to use different high school course disciplines and skills expected of high school graduates are of great interest to the Rhode Island Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. With that in mind," Uvin concluded, "I support and encourage any action that brings this project closer to fruition."

Echoing the many educational benefits of the project, David Kerwood, President of U.S. Naval Sea Cadets of Rhode Island said: "We see this opportunity as crucial to our mission to engage the young people of the Ocean State in their maritime tradition and historical roots. We have no doubt whatsoever that this project will prove to be hugely significant to our youth, with a positive impact that will pay dividends for generations to come."

Weygand concludes, "USS Saratoga Museum Foundation has committed to invest substantial private funds into the conversion of this ship into a workforce development and educational center, family attraction, disaster relief asset, museum and memorial. The bottom line here is that action by the General Assembly will declare to the US Navy and other federal and state agencies that the people of Rhode Island are supportive of this project."

Last Updated:
6/7/08