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

DATE: SUNDAY, November 20, 1994                   TAG: 9411210071
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C9   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: WINDSOR                                 LENGTH: Short

COAL STORAGE FACILITY GETS INITIAL APPROVAL

The Army Corps of Engineers has given preliminary approval to a proposed Norfolk Southern Corp. coal storage facility to be built in Isle of Wight County.

Two other federal agencies, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Fish and Wildlife Service, have opposed the facility, saying it would damage wetlands and wildlife.

``We've made a preliminary decision to issue the permit,'' said Ken Kimidy, a senior environmental scientist with the corps. ``And I think, incorporating all of the safeguards, that we feel this project can be approved.''

To make up for 56 acres of wetlands that would be destroyed, the corps suggested creating 212 acres of forested wetlands on nearby farmland. The corps also proposed establishing 211 acres of forest around the facility.

The facility is to be built on about 1,600 acres southeast of U.S. 460 outside Windsor. It would be used to store coal from western Virginia before it is shipped to the Norfolk Southern docks in Norfolk. Some officials have said the facility could ultimately handle 40 million tons of coal a year.

by CNB