THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, April 8, 1995 TAG: 9504080235
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY KAREN WEINTRAUB, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 91 lines
Virginia Beach could receive its first water from Lake Gaston in the spring of 1998 if North Carolina and Virginia reach an agreement this summer. But much remains to be done to make the 76-mile pipeline a reality.
Q. What are the next steps on the road to a settlement?
A. First, officials on both sides have to agree that the settlement proposal released by a federal mediator Thursday is a good one. Virginia Gov. George F. Allen has asked Virginia Beach officials to brief legislators on the proposal soon.
The settlement must have the approval of the Energy Regulatory Commission, the last federal agency that must sign off on the project. The agency is conducting an environmental review of the project and is not expected to act until after that study is completed in summer.
Part of the proposal calls for an interstate compact, which would have to be approved by both houses of Congress after the states agree.
Q. What happens when the agreement is reached?
A. Having designed the 76-mile pipeline and bought the land for it, Virginia Beach will be ready to immediately advertise for construction contracts. Clarence O. Warnstaff, director of public utilities for the city, said he hopes to expedite the contracting process and get construction started two to three months after final approval. ``We're not going to let any grass grow under our feet,'' he said.
Q. How long will it take to build the pipeline?
A. Construction is expected to take about 2 1/2 years.
Q. How will Virginia's General Assembly approve the agreement when it is not scheduled to meet again until next year?
A. A special session may be called to approve any agreement reached by the states, so that construction can begin before the legislature convenes in January. Ken Stroupe, a spokesman for Allen, said it was ``premature to speculate'' whether such a special session would be needed. A one-day meeting of the legislature would cost Virginia taxpayers about $30,000 for the legislators' salaries and expenses, according to the Senate finance office.
Q. What kind of deadline is Virginia Beach working under?
A. Virginia Beach has to decide by April 28 whether to authorize expansion of the Norfolk water treatment system to handle as much as an additional 60 million gallons a day from Lake Gaston. The expansion would cost Virginia Beach up to $100 million.
If Virginia Beach gives its go-ahead for the expansion and the pipeline project is derailed, the Beach would still have to pay for the extra capacity.
If the Beach doesn't authorize construction by the end of the month, expansion of the treatment plant would be delayed into the next century, until an upgrade of the water system, already under way, is completed.
Q. How much will the project cost, and how much has it cost so far?
A. Beach officials estimate building the pipeline will cost $142 million. An additional $100 million will be needed to expand Norfolk's water treatment system to handle the added water from Lake Gaston.
As of Jan. 31, the project had cost $34.9 million. Virginia Beach, which would get up to 48 million gallons of water a day from Lake Gaston, has picked up the bulk of the expenses. Chesapeake, which is entitled to 10 million gallons of Gaston water day of the 60 million total, has paid the rest. Franklin and Isle of Wight County are entitled to as much as 1 million gallons of Gaston water a day but have not been asked to pay construction costs.
Some of the bills so far: $10.3 million for construction of several pipeline bridges, $7.5 million for engineering, $6.9 million for lawyers, $3.3 million for land purchases and $1.1 million for preliminary site surveys.
Q. How will a settlement affect water restrictions?
A. Virginia Beach residents still will be encouraged to conserve water and prohibited from watering their lawns or washing their cars with city water for the foreseeable future, Warnstaff said.
``Initiating construction doesn't bring more water to the region,'' Warnstaff said. ``We're not going to be in a position to lift those restrictions. . . . I don't anticipate having greater restrictions. We're just going to have to play this out year by year.''
Q. What about the roads promised in the proposed agreement?
A. The mediator's proposal calls for Virginia to widen to four lanes both U.S. Route 17 and Virginia Route 168 to the North Carolina border. Both roads, heavily traveled by tourists and commuters, are on the Virginia Department of Transportation's long-range plans. But money has been allocated only for widening a small segment of Route 17. State officials have discussed the possibility of allowing a private builder to construct a bypass for Route 168 that would be funded through tolls. MEMO: [For a related story, see page A5 of The Virginian-Pilot for this
date.]
ILLUSTRATION: STAFF Map
KEYWORDS: LAKE GASTON WATER SUPPLY PLAN TIDEWATER by CNB