Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, June 3, 1990 TAG: 9006030056
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-4 EDITION: STATE
SOURCE:
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Short
Bruce Williams, chief of the Norfolk District's permit section, said Friday's proposal would allow construction and other land disturbances without federal permits on cropland that was cleared of its native wetland vegetation before December 1985.
The plan would free hundreds of thousands of acres from federal regulations, based on rough estimates in a recent report by the Southeastern Virginia Planning District Commission.
The report estimated that 970,000 privately owned acres, a total that includes forested areas, probably were wetlands.
"It will be very controversial to certain environmental groups," Williams said. "It will be embraced by the farming community and the development community." - Associated Press
by CNB