NOTICE AND DESCRIPTION OF SHELLFISH AREA CONDEMNATION
NUMBER 063-046, LOWER NANSEMOND RIVER
EFFECTIVE 15 SEPTEMBER 2026
Pursuant to Title 28.2, Chapter 8, §§28.2-803 through 28.2-808, §32.1-20, and §2.2-4002, B.16 of the Code of Virginia:
1. The “Notice and Description of Shellfish Area Condemnation Number 063-046, Lower Nansemond River,” effective 15 October 2025, is cancelled effective 15 September 2026.
2. Condemned Shellfish Area Number 063-046, shown as Sections A through C, is hereby established, effective 15 September 2026. It shall be unlawful for any person, firm, or corporation to take shellfish from these areas for any purpose, except by permit granted by the Marine Resources Commission, as provided in Section 28.2-810 of the Code of Virginia. The boundaries of these areas are shown on the map titled “Lower Nansemond River, Condemned Shellfish Area Number 063-046, 15 September 2026” which is part of this notice.
3. Conditionally Approved Shellfish Area Number 063-046, shown as Section C34, is hereby established effective 15 September 2026. Pursuant to § 28.2-808(3) of the Code of Virginia, such conditional condemnation is based upon predictable pollution events arising from excess rainfall. This area shall be placed in the closed status at 12:01 a.m. the day following a 24-hour rainfall event of greater than a total of 1.0 inch in the Nansemond River. The source of the data indicating the total 24-hour rainfall will be the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Multisensor Precipitation Estimator for latitude / longitude coordinate (36.85116188,-76.52545336 decimal degrees), or (36°51'04.2",-76°31'31.6" degrees, minutes, and seconds). The time interval used to measure the 24-hour rainfall event will be the 24-hour period ending at 8:00 p.m. on the day prior to the effective date of the closed status. The closed status of the conditionally condemned area shall remain in effect for 10 calendar days, and shall revert to the open status at 12:01 a.m. on the 11th calendar day from the effective date of the closed status. It shall be unlawful for any person, firm, or corporation to take shellfish from this area for any purpose while in the closed status, except by permit granted by the Marine Resources Commission, as provided in Section 28.2-810 of the Code of Virginia. The boundaries of this area are shown on the map titled “Lower Nansemond River, Condemned Shellfish Area Number 063-046, 15 September 2026” which is part of this notice.
4. Conditionally Approved Shellfish Area (Closed Status) Number 063-046, shown as Sections M1 and M2, is established effective 15 September 2026. It shall be unlawful for any person, firm, or corporation to take shellfish from these areas during such period for any purpose while in the closed status, except by permit granted by the Marine Resources Commission, as provided in § 28.2-810 of the Code of Virginia. The boundaries of these areas are shown on the map titled “Lower Nanseond River, Condemned Shellfish Area Number 063-046, 15 September 2026” which is part of this notice.
4. The Department of Health will receive, consider and respond to petitions by any interested person at any time with respect to reconsideration or revision of this order.
BOUNDARIES OF CONDEMNED AREA NUMBER 063-046
A. The condemned area shall include all of Bennett Creek and its tributaries upstream of a line drawn from latitude / longitude map coordinate (36°52'44.3",-76°29'04.1") to map coordinate (36°52'47.7",-76°28'47.0") as well as a second line from map coordinate (36°52'53.9",-76°28'34.4") to map coordinate (36°52'54.2",-76°28'32.1").
B. The condemned area shall include all of Bleakhorn Creek and its tributaries upstream of a line drawn from latitude / longitude map coordinate (36°54'40.9",-76°28'52.3") to map coordinate (36°54'38.8",-76°28'53.1").
C. The condemned area shall include all of Knotts Creek and its tributaries upstream of a line drawn from latitude / longitude map coordinate (36°53'02.5",-76°27'35.4") to map coordinate (36°53'27.5",-76°27'14.3").
C34. The conditionally approved area shall include that portion of the Nansemond River inland of a line drawn from latitude / longitude map coordinate (36°52'52.0",-76°29'21.1") to map coordinate (36°53'44.1",-76°27'05.8"); but excluding the areas defined as Sections A and B.
M1. The conditionally approved area (closed status) shall include that portion of Bennetts Creek inland of a line drawn between latitude / longitude map coordinate (36°52'30.2",-76°29'02.6"), map coordinate (36°52'30.3",-76°29'00.2"), map coordinate (36°52'23.0",-76°29'00.2"), and map coordinate (36°52'23.1",-76°29'02.5"); and is shown as part of Section A.
M2. The conditionally approved area (closed status) shall include that portion of Bennetts Creek upstream of a line drawn between latitude / longitude map coordinate (36°51'58.9",-76°28'44.8") and map coordinate (36°51'58.5",-76°28'41.1"); as well as downstream of a second line drawn between map coordinate (36°51'48.1",-76°28'45.5") and map coordinate (36°51'47.6",-76°28'41.1"); and is shown as part of Section A.
