Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, March 23, 1990 TAG: 9003232218
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B2 EDITION: STATE
SOURCE: DEBORAH SENSABAUGH SPECIAL TO THE ROANOKE TIMES & WORLD-NEWS
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
None had favorable comments.
Dr. William Weddle, a family practitioner in Buena Vista, expressed concern about the effects of pollutants on his patients with chronic lung disease. He said he already saw an effect from temperature inversions "at least one day a week" in Buena Vista.
"On those days, my office is standing room only," he told council. "Think of your friends and neighbors, think of the impact it [the cogeneration plant] will have on this town."
Vice Mayor Roger Groot, presiding at the meeting, told citizens it was not a forum for cogeneration and that the city had only one more action to take on the subject - that of a building permit prior to construction.
Groot said 21 conditions for the Ultrasystems plant, ranging from hours of operation to the color of the building, had been set by council when the proposed site was rezoned and an additional 10 conditions for a coal pipeline across the Maury River had been set.
The plant will have to secure EPA and other state permits before it can be constructed. However, hearings for those permits will take place in late spring or early summer.
F. Qubain, owner of the Barnes Motel, submitted several research papers regarding the effects of emissions from cogeneration plants. In an impassioned speech, Qubain expressed concern about property values and said he would sue the city if the cogeneration plant is a detriment to his business.
Other residents addressed scientific issues. Daniel Pharr, a chemistry professor at Virginia Military Institute, said he had been studying emissions of coal-fired cogeneration plants for more than a year. He said that in papers submitted to the Environmental Protection Agency, the cogeneration officials say 30 tons of sulfuric mist will be produced per year.
Pharr said the EPA still is studying the effect of the mist, so no regulations have been set. "No one has built a coal-fired cogeneration plant in an area like this," Pharr told council.
Jack Reeves of Lexington, another VMI professor, said acid rain damage was severe along the top of the Blue Ridge Mountains and that the cogeneration plant would add significantly to the problem. Hunters and fishermen are concerned, he said.
Alise Sprunt of Route 1, Buena Vista, said the $500,000 the plant will provide toward city flood control is the price of a good Rockbridge County farm. She joined others to say that clean air and water drew many to settle in Rockbridge County. "The people of Rockbridge County are willing to buy bonds to help pay for flood control," she said.
Pat Wohlrab of Buena Vista said the plant at the northern end of Glen Maury Park would severely cut into tourism.
Steve Richards of Rockbridge County said the city might not be able to supply enough water for the cogeneration plant to operate when the river is low. "Think about what those demands will place on your [water] system," he urged council.
Many citizens were upset that they had no chance for input on council's decision regarding the plant thus far.
One of the residents who spoke, Betty Jo Glass, said she and her family had come to Buena Vista because they did not "want to live under a cloud of industry."
Glass and Samuel Halterman were candidates for a vacant School Board position to be filled during the meeting. However, council declined to appoint either. Members gave no reason but agreed that the vacancy should be readvertised for lack of a motion for appointment.
by CNB