
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, July 20, 1990                   TAG: 9007200385
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: B-2   EDITION: STATE 
SOURCE: Southwest bureau
DATELINE: CLINTWOOD                                LENGTH: Short

NATURAL-GAS WELL HEARING DRAWS PROTEST

About 270 people attended a public hearing Wednesday night on a proposed well in Dickenson County for storing waste water from natural-gas drilling, and most of them opposed the plan.

The Dickenson County Board of Supervisors will probably decide on its response to the proposal at its regular meeting Wednesday night. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is accepting comments until the end of the month.

Equitable Resources Exploration Inc., also known as Erex, is seeking an EPA permit to use an old natural gas well as a repository for salt water generated as a byproduct of its natural-gas drilling in Southwest Virginia.

Despite assurances by Erex spokesmen that the waste water would be stored safely, Dickenson County residents are concerned that it could affect their underground drinking water supply if the storage well failed.

Federal tax credits available to natural-gas wells operating by 1991 spurred Erex's interest in developing its gas production in Southwest Virginia.

by CNB