[Scan-DC] Reagan National and Dulles airports

Thu, 1 Apr 2004 23:01:42 -0500

Well it turns out that I'm somewhat incorrect. I did some further research
on the matter and here's what I found out.

Evidently, shortly after National was completed the matter of where it was
located became a matter of intense debate between DC and VA. Congress
intervened and in 1945 passed legislation stating that the eastern Virginia
boundary ended at the mean high water mark of the Potomac (a survey was
commissioned to establish what the high water mark was). However, Congress
declared that it would be the high water mark of the Potomac in 1945 and
since National was already built it would lie west of this. So you would
think this would settle the matter. Well Congress exempted National and
reserved it as lying not in Virginia but in the "United States". The
Virginia code recognizes this stating that

"Section 107. The State of Virginia hereby consents that exclusive
jurisdiction in the Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (as described
in section one (b) of the act of June twenty-ninth, nineteen hundred forty
(fifty-four Stat. six hundred eighty-six)), title to which is now in the
United States, shall be in the United States. "
http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?000+cod+7.1-10

However, Virginia reserves the right to regulate alcohol sales and to tax
fuel for motor vehicles. I does not claim the right to tax sales.

What does "in the United States" mean. Well if you look up the address for
Reagan National:

Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority     
1 Aviation Circle
Washington, DC 20001-6000 

Aviation Circle is right in front of the main terminal so it's not some post
office box in DC proper. You would think the Postal Service recognizing
National as being in DC would settle the matter (vis-a-vis "Miracle on 34th
Street"). But it doesn't. If you look up the postal address of the Pentagon
it too is in DC. The Pentagon was built on land that was always west of the
Potomac and is definitely in Virginia.

I guess one could think of National as being like a US military base. The
federal government has essentially full jurisdiction and it was built over a
river that never was part of Virginia.

Sorry for such a long message off topic but I thought I better revise and
amend my original remarks

73'
John 
W3JMV

-----Original Message-----
From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]]
On Behalf Of [email protected]
Sent: Thursday, April 01, 2004 9:57 AM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [Scan-DC] Reagan National and Dulles airports

On Wed, 31 Mar 2004 22:29:50 -0500 "John Vittone" <[email protected]>
writes:
> National is built on landfill over the Potomac and thus is east of the 
> Virginia line and in DC.

That must explain why that island that is north of Boundary Channel is also
in DC. I've often wondered which agency would respond to a homicide there,
as it is reached much more easily by the Arlington PD rather than the MPD.
I've meant to ask an APD officer.
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