---

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

DATE: TUESDAY, February 11, 1992                   TAG: 9202110241
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: B-3   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE: RICHMOND                                LENGTH: Short

---

ENVIRONMENTAL REGULATION BILL DELAYED

A bill aimed at bringing state environmental regulations into closer conformity with federal standards was carried over Monday until next year's General Assembly session.

The bill, introduced by Sen. Frank Nolen, D-Augusta, and opposed by some state environmental groups, said that state environmental regulations could not exceed comparable federal law unless cleared by standing committees of each house of legislature.

Monday, the Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources Committee decided to delay action on the bill.

Among the critics of the bill was Virginia Secretary of Natural Resources Elizabeth Haskell. Bernard Caton, Virginia's deputy secretary for natural resources, had said this month that he feared the bill could leave Virginia with some of the most lax environmental regulations in the country.

---