THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, June 4, 1996 TAG: 9606040341
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B5 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: 48 lines
A move to relax Virginia's clean water standards would increase pollution and endanger river life, critics say.
State officials, however, call the changes a common sense adjustment to complicated environmental rules.
The Department of Environmental Quality has proposed less stringent restrictions for pollutants that include such things as fecal bacteria, chlorine and copper.
But elements of the plan have come under criticism.
Kimberly L. Coble, a senior scientist for the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, said Gov. George Allen's administration is pushing a sweeping weakening of anti-pollution standards.
``You'll definitely see more pollutants in rivers,'' she said. ``You'll see permits that are not protective. You'll see environmental damage. The standards are supposed to prevent those things.''
Administration officials say they are adjusting the standards to incorporate new research and to ensure that regulations are not overly burdensome.
``It's a big old housecleaning exercise that will have little, if any, practical effect on how people, including businesses, live day to day in the commonwealth,'' said Michael McKenna, a spokesman for the environmental department.
McKenna said the DEQ may alter its proposals after considering comments from the public. The proposals have drawn more than 500 letters, most in opposition.
Business officials appear to favor the changes.
``We are pleased that many of the proposed amendments are directed at removing overly restrictive language and introducing greater flexibility into the standards,'' Robert J. Robinson of American Electric Power Co. said in written comments to the DEQ.
Federal law requires water standards to be updated every three years. Virginia is behind schedule, having last revised its standards in 1992.
The DEQ's proposals leave intact many standards, and a few are toughened. But the agency has acknowledged in a public notice that the proposals may be viewed in sum as ``reduced regulatory control.''
The proposals will be presented to the State Water Control Board for adoption late this year. The federal Environmental Protection Agency must approve the changes. by CNB