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

DATE: TUESDAY, April 6, 1993                   TAG: 9304060197
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C-4   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: MADELYN ROSENBERG STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

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VMI HOSTS STATE `ENVIRONMENTAL SUMMIT'

For four years, Virginia Military Institute has hosted a symposium on the environment; and for four years, it has grown.

More sponsorship. More attendance. More clout.

"We're billing this as an environmental summit for Virginia," said Capt. Ronald Erchul, coordinator for the symposium and a professor of civil and environmental engineering.

This year's summit, which begins today on the historic campus, will include speeches by Gov. Douglas Wilder; state senators; and Richard Burton, newly appointed director of the Department of Environmental Quality.

The topic will be pollution prevention.

"This is a theme so relevant to our times," Erchul said. "We're looking and planning and seeing how to best approach the problems without a big spill or mess. We're looking for a logical approach to pollution that we can concentrate on."

The symposium has 18 corporate sponsors - companies like Hoechst Celanese, Burlington Industries and Philip Morris.

It makes sense, Erchul says. "These companies have a stake in the Virginia environment, as do our localities."

Although not everyone agrees how to solve environmental problems, Erchul said, "I think we can all agree - whether we're in the public or private sector - that we have to prevent them.

"Think of all of the Love Canals and Superfund sites. . . . Even if we could prevent 50 percent of them with good planning, there would be a tremendous savings and benefit to the environment."

The two-day symposium is free for students, but $85 for the general public.

Two workshops will be held Wednesday afternoon, on environmental management and on pollution prevention plans for localities.

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