Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, July 24, 1990 TAG: 9007240312
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B/2 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: MADELYN ROSENBERG NEW RIVER VALLEY BUREAU
DATELINE: PULASKI LENGTH: Medium
"We are asking you . . . for your support in an effort to assure Pulaski County citizens of a safe water supply," said Nancy Pugh, who lives near Dan Bar Farms, a site near Dublin proposed for a landfill.
Pugh and Nancy Bowman, who also lives near the site, have been fighting the landfill for the past few years. One of their worries has been that leachate could seep into the ground water. But Monday night, they were concerned about water safety all over the county.
"The town of Pulaski's water supply is threatened by the proposed Wythe/Bland County landfill," Pugh said. "We can certainly sympathize. Perhaps you can see where we've been coming from for the past couple of years."
Pugh said pollution problems in Peak Creek date to 1976, and Claytor Lake has shown elevated levels of heavy metals in sediment samples.
To combat the problem, Pugh and Bowman suggested that the supervisors help establish a Citizens Advocate Committee for Clean Water that could review reports pertaining to water quality on a regular basis. The members should have a vested interest in maintaining a safe water supply and provide information, advise and even intercede on behalf of county citizens, they said in a proposal that was handed to each supervisor.
They also suggested researching Roanoke landfill permit policies and conditions for ground-water and property-value protection.
The supervisors said they would research Roanoke's policies, which Pugh said guarantee citizens in the area hosting a landfill a safe water supply and compensation for any loss to property value at the expense of the agency operating the landfill.
Pugh plans to take the proposal to the next meeting of the New River Resource Authority, which handles waste for Pulaski County and Radford.
In other business, John Johnston, supervisor of finances for the county School Board, updated the supervisors on their plans for capital improvements. The plans, which include funding for computer equipment and building improvements, could total $6 million over the next five years.
"We're trying to meet some of the needs from our operating budget, but we won't be able to meet them all," Johnston said.
by CNB