THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, July 25, 1994 TAG: 9407250039
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY WARREN FISKE, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Long : 114 lines
Several Virginia Beach officials have rushed to the defense of U.S. Sen. Charles S. Robb in the wake of a recent charge that Robb has been ineffective in helping the city establish its water supply from Lake Gaston.
``I am really grieved to see the Lake Gaston project being used as a political football,'' said Mayor Meyera E. Oberndorf. ``Sen. Robb's devotion to the project over the years has been a saving grace.''
On Thursday, the city's long fight to build a 76-mile pipeline from Lake Gaston became an issue in Virginia's four-way race for the U.S. Senate. Independent J. Marshall Coleman said that Robb, a Democrat, need only make a call to President Clinton to get things moving on the $142 million pipeline.
A spokeswoman for Robb said the senator has discussed the pipeline with Clinton and Vice President Al Gore in recent months. ``The senator has spent many hours talking to many people over many years trying to make the Lake Gaston pipeline a reality,'' said Peggy Wilhide, Robb's press secretary. ``Marshall Coleman is way off base to imply anything less than that. I'd say he's just trying to get his name in print.''
State Sen. Clarence A. Holland, D-Virginia Beach, dismissed Coleman's comment as ``no more than a political statement by someone running for office.''
``Robb has done all he can,'' Holland said. ``This thing isn't as simple as a phone call.''
Most of Lake Gaston lies in North Carolina. For years the city has been embroiled in a costly legal and regulatory battle with North Carolina officials, who strenuously oppose the project.
Several Virginia Beach officials said Robb ardently supported the project when he was governor from 1982 to 1986. They said Robb held promising negotiations early in his term with North Carolina Gov. James B. Hunt Jr., a Democrat.
Those talks, they said, fell apart in 1984 when Hunt discovered that his open-mindedness on Lake Gaston was a liability in his bid for the U.S. Senate. His opponent, incumbent Republican Jesse A. Helms, accused Hunt of ``selling out the birthright'' of North Carolinians.
``After that, everything fell apart,'' Oberndorf said.
Oberndorf and Holland said Robb has been effective in presenting Virginia Beach's case to federal regulatory agencies since he was elected to the Senate in 1988.
Last month, however, the construction of the pipeline was indefinitely delayed when the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission announced that it would conduct an environmental impact study before determining whether to authorize the project. The commission based its decision, in part, on recommendations from the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Commerce.
Robb has protested the decision to Gore, who oversees the Clinton administration's environmental policy. This week, Ridge Schuyler, Robb's director of legislative affairs, is scheduled to meet with top officials from Gore's office to address concerns raised by the Commerce Department and the EPA.
Not all Virginia Beach officials give Robb rave reviews for his performance on Lake Gaston, however. Del. Harry R. Purkey, D-Virginia Beach, said Robb failed to unite state political and business leaders behind the project. The effect, he said, was that Virginia Beach was forced to use its limited resources to fight the full brunt of North Carolina's state government.
``In that regard, Robb should be held accountable,'' Purkey said. But even if Robb had fashioned such a coalition, Purkey added, North Carolina might not have dropped its objections. ``It all comes down to the question of whether North Carolina really wants to settle this,'' he said.
Virginia Beach officials had no kind words for former Gov. L. Douglas Wilder's efforts on behalf of the pipeline. ``They were nonexistent,'' Oberndorf said. ``I can't think of a thing he did.''
Wilder also is mounting an independent candidacy for the U.S. Senate this year. Oberndorf and Holland said Wilder rejected invitations to meet with city officials about Lake Gaston when he was governor from 1990 to 1994.
Wilder said that although he personally supports the pipeline, there was little he could do as governor to advance it. ``Virginia never had a concerted position on Lake Gaston,'' he said.
Wilder explained that support for the pipeline from Hampton Roads officials was countered by opposition from state politicians who live near Lake Gaston. And the project, he said, was of little concern to powerful politicians from other parts of the state.
In addition, Wilder said he found it impossible to start a dialogue with former North Carolina Gov. James G. Martin, a Republican who served during the first three years of Wilder's term. ``He was dead-set against Lake Gaston,'' Wilder said.
Virginia Beach officials are giving high marks to Virginia Gov. George F. Allen, who took office last January. Allen sent three representatives to a hearing last week on Lake Gaston. In addition, they say, he has enlisted legal help for the city from state Attorney General James S. Gilmore III.
``Gov. Allen fully recognizes that Lake Gaston is an important state priority,'' Purkey said. ILLUSTRATION: WHO'S DONE WHAT FOR LAKE GASTON
CHARLES S. ROBB:
As governor, he held negotiations with N.C. Gov. James B. Hunt Jr.
As senator, he pressed Virginia's case with federal regulatory
agencies.
L. DOUGLAS WILDER:
As governor, he said it was impossible to start talks with N.C. Gov.
James G. Martin. Wilder also said support for the project wasn't
statewide.
KEYWORDS: WATER SUPPLY PLAN TIDEWATER LAKE GASTON U.S. SENATE RACE
by CNB