Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, January 29, 1994 TAG: 9401290200
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Medium
Five major oil spills in Virginia in five years have released more than 774,000 gallons of petroleum into the environment, officials said. The most recent spill took place last March, when more than 400,000 gallons of diesel fuel were released into Sugarland Run and the Potomac River.
The spill forced the Fairfax County Water Authority to close for 11 days and contaminated miles of waterways.
"Many of us just suspect it's a matter of time before another break occurs," said state Sen. Edward Houck, D-Spotsylvania, who noted that a large number of Northern Virginia lawmakers are co-sponsoring his bill.
The measure would direct the State Corporation Commission to act as agent for the federal Office of Pipeline Safety, which has only three inspectors covering 14 states. The SCC backs the proposal.
Houck said the Office of Pipeline Safety is seriously understaffed and underfunded. He and others who spoke at a state Capitol news conference cited statistics to support the call for more inspections.
An average of 12 million gallons of crude oil and petroleum products spills from pipelines each year, making up more than half of all oil spills involving accidents of more than 10,000 gallons each, Houck said.
The bill before the General Assembly would transfer supervision of oil pipelines in Virginia from the federal to state government. Enforcement authority, however, still would reside with the federal Office of Pipeline Safety.
The cost of the program is estimated at $60,000 to $85,000. The government would pay one-fourth to one-third the cost, said James Pates, city attorney for Fredericksburg, which has been affected by spills in recent years. The remaining cost would be charged to pipeline operators.
Massoud Tahamtani, utilities manager with the SCC, said the money would pay for a full-time inspector.
In other legislative news:
Planned Parenthood said it expects a tough fight this year on bills to require parental notification for abortions for minors.
"The threat to abortion rights for Virginia women is a great one," lobbyist Karen Raschke said at a news conference.
Gov. George Allen supports requiring that a parent or a judge be notified before unmarried minor teens get an abortion. The measure passed the General Assembly two years ago, but then-Gov. Douglas Wilder vetoed it.
Allen said that he opposes giving health benefits to the partners of gay employees at Virginia's public universities.
"I don't think it's proper policy for Virginia to condone that sort of behavior," he said.
Allen's comments, supported by ranking members of the General Assembly, were sparked by this week's faculty vote at the College of William and Mary urging that public university employees across the state be allowed to share health benefits with homosexual partners.
Faculty at other institutions, including the University of Virginia and Virginia Tech, are pushing for similar changes in benefit policies.
Opponents of legislation designed to get people off welfare spoke Friday at the Capitol.
They are concerned about a proposal that would cut off welfare after two years. The legislation was introduced this week by Sen. Charles Colgan, D-Manassas, and Del. William Bennett, D-Halifax.
"You're taking the fault of the parent and putting it on the children," said Stephen Colecchi, director of the Catholic Diocese of Richmond, noting that one in seven children in Virginia is living in poverty.
by CNB