Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, March 8, 1994 TAG: 9403080152
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: HAYMARKET LENGTH: Medium
The company already has used big names from inside and outside Virginia to press its case in the General Assembly for Disney's America.
Disney's paid allies include such public relations specialists as former President Carter's press secretary, Jody Powell, and Walter Mondale's 1984 presidential campaign manager, Bob Beckel.
Now Disney is bracing for a full-scale fight with the Washington, D.C., region's powerful environmental constituency over federal clean-air and highway laws.
Disney is hiring political aides with Capitol Hill and White House experience, as well as lobbyists who know their way around federal agencies that will have purview over the proposed Prince William County park, said Charles Lewis, director of the Center for Public Integrity. The group studies the subject of lobbying.
Opponents of the theme park say they are preparing to fight Disney in court if necessary on provisions of the Clean Air Act and also on recent transportation laws, which link highway construction to regional efforts to control air pollution. The Federal Highway Administration also must decide what degree of environmental scrutiny a Disney freeway interchange and lane-widening would have to undergo.
The region's elected officials, who decide how federal highway dollars are divided, will start this month debating the road plan Disney wants.
Disney must prove its road proposal won't increase air pollution in the Washington area. Under new federal law, regional planners cannot allow any development that would increase the area's pollution.
The process will involve the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and could draw in other federal agencies or members of Congress.
Disney's adviser on environmental issues is Leon Billings, who as an aide to former Sen. Edmund Muskie, D-Maine, helped draft the 1972 Clean Air Act.
For all-around political help, particularly with Congress, the company has a full-time Washington lobbyist, Richard Bates. For years, Bates was executive director for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.
Among its legal advisers, the company has retained Beveridge & Diamond, which became the first big Washington firm to dedicate its practice to environmental law in the 1970s. Disney also has retained the law firm of Winston & Strawn, whose partners include Bates's old boss, former Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chairman Beryl Anthony.
Anthony is a former Arkansas congressman and a close friend of President Clinton.
"These advisers reflect Disney's longstanding commitment to the environment," said Mary Anne Reynolds, a company spokeswoman. "They will help ensure we do everything necessary to protect and enhance Northern Virginia's environment."
Disney's plans for a 3,000-acre theme park and resort near Haymarket could add thousands of jobs as well as thousands more cars.
Consumer advocate Ralph Nader, who last week announced his opposition to the Disney project, said Disney has "picked one [lobbyist] for every specialty. Jody Powell does the history part and the historical preservation. Bob Beckel does the Democratic Party and whatever labor smoothing he has to do with the labor people. And Leon Billings is Mr. Air Pollution Prevention."
Maintaining Disney's star-studded team would cost "$1 million to $5 million," Lewis said.
Nader estimated that Disney's lobbyists are costing at least $100,000 a month.
Reynolds would not comment on the figures. "Whatever the price tag, their mission is crucial to help us navigate uncharted waters," she said. "They'll ensure that Virginia's new jobs and new guests are also good for the environment."
The forces arrayed against Disney also are lobbying hard.
The Piedmont Environmental Council, a land-preservation group with headquarters in Warrenton, has led the anti-park effort and has announced a fund-raising goal of $1 million. The council's members and major donors include heirs to the du Pont, Mellon and Firestone fortunes, according to its financial report.
by CNB