Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, April 8, 1994 TAG: 9404080157
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: CATHRYN McCUE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LEXINGTON LENGTH: Medium
There are corporations and businesses that would recklessly pollute the air, water and land if not for the watchful eye of government regulators.
By the same token, there are environmental "Chicken Littles" who claim that every issue is a crisis for which the only solution is more rules and regulations, Dunlop said.
"Excessive government can be damaging, and we have some excessive governmental regulations today," said Dunlop, keynote speaker at the Environment Virginia conference at Virginia Military Institute.
Citing three state air-pollution programs that are more stringent than the federal government requires, she called on the Department of Environmental Quality, which she oversees, to review those programs.
"Are they necessary? Are they effective?" she asked. Her office likewise will scrutinize other environmental regulations as she participates in Gov. George Allen's strike force to streamline Virginia's government.
Addressing about 400 mostly business representatives and environmental consultants, Dunlop reiterated Allen's philosophy to strike a balance between environmental protection and economic growth, as well as people's property and jobs.
She also said that businesses, like individuals, tend to give more time and money to environmental protection when they are free from immediate financial worries.
"When we have a healthy economy, we have an improving environment," Dunlop said.
She also took the opportunity to jab the federal Environmental Protection Agency and Congress for handing down what she described as burdensome unfunded mandates.
One issue the state and EPA are tussling over is that of citizens' rights to challenge pollution permits in court. Under Virginia law, only those seeking permits can challenge water-pollution permit decisions, and there are restrictions on those who want to challenge air-pollution permits.
EPA's acting administrator for Region III, Stanley Laskowski, who also spoke at the conference, said the agency had "serious concerns" about citizens' legal rights in Virginia. He said he wrote Allen last fall to tell the newly elected governor that the state law is at odds with the federal Clean Water Act and Clean Air Act.
"Improvements have to be made in Virginia law. Lacking that could result in certain [restrictions] on permitting programs and potential sanctions," Laskowski said.
Dunlop said she is proposing that the governor form a task force to review the issue over the next several months.
This is the fifth year that VMI has sponsored the environmental conference, largely through the efforts of Capt. Ronald Erchul, professor of civil and environmental engineering.
"We decided that, in the '90s, the environment is an extremely important area," Erchul said.
Two years ago, the school added "environmental" to the name of its engineering department, he said, because if buildings, bridges, roads and other projects aren't designed to be environmentally sound, they won't get built.
To some who may find it surprising that a university that stresses the rigor of military life should be promoting pollution prevention and other environmental issues, Erchul said: "The military is one of the biggest polluters. If you want a lot of pollution, just start a war."
by CNB