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

DATE: THURSDAY, February 9, 1995                   TAG: 9502090079
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C-1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: CATHRYN McCUE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

EPA GIVES ITS OK TO HENRY COUNTY POLLUTION PERMITS

The federal government this week approved two water pollution discharge permits for Henry County that have been targeted by an environmental group as weak and possibly illegal.

The Environmental Protection Agency will allow the waste water from the county's sewage-treatment plants to be more discolored than previously had been allowed. The plants handle waste water from the area's textile industry.

The EPA also approved a state variance for one of the plants to use chlorine as a disinfectant, normally forbidden in discharges to natural trout streams such as the upper Smith River. The county now uses chlorine, combined with a dechlorination process.

Last month, the EPA filed several objections to the permits. It still is negotiating with the state on a third one for Martinsville's sewage-treatment plant.

The county's Public Service Authority, pleased with the EPA's decision, notified the media and called a news conference. In a sharply worded statement, General Manager Sidney Clower blamed recent delays on the ``meddlesome and irrational involvement'' of a whistle-blower protection group called Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility.

He also blamed recent articles in the Roanoke Times & World-News about PEER's challenge of state policies for issuing water permits, including the county's.

PEER attorney Joanne Royce, based in Washington, D.C., said her group represents about two dozen workers in the state Department of Environmental Quality who are concerned that some permits are illegal and fail to protect Virginia's natural resources.

``All I can say is, we are not going to go away,'' Royce said. Public hearings have been scheduled for 12 other permits being challenged by PEER around the state.

Robert Burnley, a top administrator at the state agency, said there was no dispute with the EPA over the Henry County permits, just a misunderstanding over technical issues.

``I don't like to characterize these things as victories or losses,'' he said. ``We're really sort of on the same team.''

In the past, the plants removed almost all the color from waste water before discharging it into the Smith River. The EPA's approval allows one-third more discoloration, which the county says is a negligible, strictly aesthetic increase.

Bill Farrar, spokesman for the county's Public Service Authority, said the cost of maintaining the color at lower levels outweighs the benefits. Further, it would cost $2 million to install an alternative disinfectant system, plus another $230,000 annually, Farrar said. That would add $11.90 to the monthly $16 sewer bill that county residents pay.

Clower credited state and federal politicians, including U.S. Sen. John Warner and Del. Roscoe Reynolds, for backing the county's position with letters and calls to the EPA and state environmental department.

Burnley said he's optimistic that the EPA soon will approve Martinsville's permit. At issue is whether the city must conduct further tests to see if copper, lead and other metals exceed standards.

by CNB