Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, February 1, 1995 TAG: 9502010084
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: CATHRYN McCUE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
The "good" bills are fairly tame, while the "ugly" ones are assaults on the state's air, water, soil - and citizens - said Terri Cofer, executive director of the Virginia Conservation Network.
The scope of environmental bills this General Assembly session includes broadening citizens' access to courts to sue over environmental permits, $10million to clean up the Kim-Stan landfill, and a requirement that the state consider potential lowering of property values in reviewing new regulations.
The ugliest bill of all, according to some environmentalists, is the so-called "Polluters' Relief Act," a measure that would grant immunity from criminal and civil prosecution to businesses that find environmental violations and confess them to the government.
"It's absurd, it really is," Cofer said Tuesday during a talk at the Science Museum of Western Virginia sponsored by the Roanoke River group of the Sierra Club and the Blue Ridge Environmental Network.
Cofer likened the bill to robbing a bank, then going to the police to say you're sorry and that you will return the money one day.
She urged the 40 or so people who turned out for the evening meeting to call their senators first thing this morning. The Senate is scheduled for a noon debate of the bill, introduced by Kenneth Stolle, R-Virginia Beach.
Under the measure, companies would not have to show the government, neighboring residents or even a judge the findings of voluntary environmental audits - unless the results unveiled a ``clear, imminent and substantial danger to public health or the environment ... ''
The Allen administration supports the measure. And Department of Environmental Quality officials say it offers an incentive for business and industry to conduct detailed inspections that could uncover serious, previously unknown problems.
They also note that cleanup plans must accompany any confession of past wrongdoing.
``It's a self-policing type of action,'' said Kevin Finto, an attorney representing the Virginia Manufacturers Association, a key supporter of the bill. ``A lot of companies are afraid to do these assessments for fear of hanging themselves with what they find,'' he said during an interview earlier Tuesday.
But environmentalists say it would create a cloak under which polluters could hide problems. The information would be considered privileged, legally akin to conversations between a husband and wife, a doctor and patient, or lawyer and client, Cofer said.
The conservation network represents about 102 member organizations, ranging from the Chesapeake Bay Foundation and Izaak Walton League to smaller, community activist groups around the state.
Julie Overy, a spokeswoman for Natural Resources Secretary Becky Norton Dunlop, said the Allen administration is shying away from environmental issues this year because its plate is so full with other initiatives, such as school reforms and tax cuts.
With a devout conservative such as Allen in the governor's mansion, environmentalists worry that pro-business lawmakers will take advantage of the prevailing wind and try to roll back environmental rules.
How bad is it for environmentalists? Del. W. Tayloe Murphy Jr., D-Warsaw, who is known for his environmental sympathies, has introduced a symbolic, if not pointed, resolution reminding the General Assembly of its constitutional commitment to protect Virginia's ``atmosphere, lands and waters from pollution, impairment or destruction. ''
Cofer said that Murphy seems to have introduced the resolution "just to see what happens to it."
The same could be said for a bill by Del. Creigh Deeds, D-Warm Springs, to squeeze $10 million from the shrinking state coffers to fully close the giant, leaking landfill in Alleghany County.
"I'm not going to let anybody forget about the Kim-Stan landfill. As long as I'm down here, I'm going to put [the bill] in every year until we get some money," Deeds said. His requests for money to close the dump have been rejected in the past.
He also introduced a measure to create a Virginia Abandoned Waste Site Authority, which would be empowered to issue as much as $25 million in bonds to help clean up an estimated 2,000 dumps, small and large, many of which have no clear owner.
It would be a "paper tiger" for now, because there's no money for it, Deeds acknowledged. But a joint subcommittee he heads is still looking at ways to fund the cleanups, including possible federal grants.
Other environmental bills include:
A measure, backed by the Virginia Farm Bureau Federation, requiring that any proposed government rule or regulation first undergo a study of its potential impact on the integrity and value of private property.
While environmental advocates portray the measure as another attempt by farmers, developers and other land-use groups to stall new restrictions on damaging activities, proponents say their bill is a basic protection against overzealous environmentalism.
A proposal requiring owners of plants and facilities handling toxic substances to assess their environmental condition each year.
Unlike the voluntary audit, these inventories would not be shielded from public or governmental view. The state Toxic Substances Board would determine all requirements.
Scott Harper of Landmark News Service provided information for this story.
Keywords:
GENERAL ASSEMBLY 1995
by CNB