THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT 
              Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: Wednesday, June 21, 1995               TAG: 9506210574
SECTION: LOCAL                    PAGE: B3   EDITION: FINAL 
SOURCE: BY SCOTT HARPER, STAFF WRITER 
                                             LENGTH: Medium:   65 lines

POLL SAYS RESIDENTS LIKE ALLEN'S EFFORTS FOR THE MOST PART THEY TAKE HIM TO TASK, THOUGH, ON ENVIRONMENTAL POLICIES.

A new statewide poll suggests that most Virginians believe Gov. George F. Allen is doing a good job - but not when it comes to the environment.

According to the poll, released Tuesday in Richmond, 69 percent of 1,014 registered voters said they approved of Allen and his less-government-is-better-government philosophy.

But 55 percent of those questioned in late May said they think the environmental policy set in motion by the governor and state legislators is ``going too far'' and could endanger the environment and public health.

``What we believe this says is that yes, Virginia has a conservative electorate; yes, they support the (Republican) Contract With America; but no, they draw the line on the environment,'' said Gerald P. McCarthy, executive director of the Virginia Environmental Endowment, which solicited the poll.

With a margin of error of 2.5 percentage points, the survey was conducted via phone interviews by Dick Morris Consultants, a Connecticut-based company. It was the first such poll paid for by the endowment, which usually distributes money around Virginia for ecological projects.

The endowment was created with the fines paid in the wake of the infamous Kepone chemical spill in the James River two decades ago. Its board of directors is composed of Republicans and Democrats. ``We're hardly a bunch of extremists,'' McCarthy said.

When questioned about specific actions favored by the Allen administration, a majority of voters in the poll almost universally disapproved of them. For example, 66 percent were against hiring private companies to manage state parks; 53 percent opposed relaxed rules for new medical waste incinerators; and 57 percent disliked a new law allowing businesses to privately audit their own environmental practices without much fear of state penalties over what they find.

The governor responded to the poll through his secretary of natural resources, Becky Norton Dunlop. She said that the administration was particularly pleased with one finding - that a vast majority of people liked the idea of giving business more flexibility in complying with environmental laws.

``The message of flexibility and streamlining regulations is one that the governor and I have carried across the commonwealth for the past year and a half,'' Dunlop said, ``and this poll indicates that we are on the right track.''

Indeed, 83 percent supported a policy of bringing business into the regulatory process and recognizing continued economic opportunity. However, 63 percent did not want to go one step further and allow business to reduce pollution in its own way and with minimum government standards.

Overall, the poll found that 44 percent of those questioned felt Virginia's environment has improved in recent years, while 22 percent perceived that air and water pollution has worsened.

They mostly credited citizens for the improvements, with government regulations and a more responsible business ethic also contributing, according to the poll.

In measuring environmental risks, the poll determined that air pollution and park preservation were the most closely watched issues. Water pollution, wetlands and drinking water followed, respectively.

KEYWORDS: POLLS APPROVAL GOVERNOR GEORGE F. ALLEN by CNB