Editor, Gazette-Journal:
Many of the residents in your coverage area are unaware of the issue with a major cruise line planning to anchor in the York River, on the Gloucester side, and tender passengers to the pier at Yorktown. This is not a riverboat class of vessel, but a foreign-flagged ocean size cruise ship. The smallest of this fleet carries more than 2,000 passengers plus crew, with plans to bus tourists to Williamsburg and Jamestown, with a smaller number, 800 to 1,000, planning to tour the village of Yorktown.
But there is more to the story.
In this case, I submit experience has shown and a long history of results has proven cruise ships cause harm whenever they make a port of call. Harm to the ocean and river beds, water quality, air quality, ecosystems, habitats, marine life, and those who depend on a good environment for the water industry in our locale.
Cruise Lines International Association realizes all major cruise lines have a polluting problem with discharges of waste,...