WACHAPREAGUE, Va. -- The Coast Guard made Accomack County officials aware they will no longer be providing 24/7 rescue service at their Wachapreague station. There are now fears this could leave busy waterways in the area unprotected.
When word came down from the Coast Guard about their staffing changes, it lead some officials to believe this could mean the end for the station.
"I don't care what they[Coast Guard] say, this is an attempt and a precursor to close that station," said Donald Hart, an Accomack County Supervisor.
Captain Jennifer Stockwell, Commander of Virginia's Coast Guard, told us on Thursday there are no plans to close down. That being said, things certainly will look a little different in the small coastal town.
Stockwell said the Coast Guard is facing one of the largest workforce shortages in their history. It's why they moved away from a traditional schedule back on April 1st.
Accomack County Supervisor Jeffrey Parks said the news is worrisome.
"We don't have that local support for our tourist fleet, our fishing fleet," said Parks. "The station was at a very low manning level, we don't have any coverage on the bayside."
Wachapreague has been transitioned to a scheduled mission station. It means an assigned crew will be there on designated shifts. Those crews will conduct boat operations, trainings, missions, maintenance and unit administration.
There will not be a 24-hour response schedule, but there will be one officer who conducts daily rounds.
In the meantime, stations in Chincoteague, Cape Charles and Little Creek will assist, while an air station in Elizabeth City, North Carolina, provides air support.
All of this information was presented to Accomack County officials in a letter, and Parks hopes the letter and the promise of not closing down the station holds true.
"I don't want to speculate, we'd have to take that letter at face value, the commander there wrote how they're going to mitigate the circumstances," said Parks.
Parks is fearful though the contingency plans may not be enough if disaster strikes.
"The Chincoteague Island station, if it is a bad situation is probably going to be pretty busy on Chincoteague, so who else can the shore rely on for that kind of support from a federal entity," questioned Parks. "They're also the lead when it comes to homeland security regarding the federal government, so that's a risk."
Stockwell did provide WBOC with a statement, where she said these measures are necessary because "operating our boats, planes, helicopters, and cutter with insufficient personnel puts our crews and the American public at risk."
Accomack County officials plan on reaching out to local representatives to garner support in an attempt to get the Wachapreague station back to full capacity.
