Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, March 13, 1995 TAG: 9503140040
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: CATHRYN MCCUE
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
In an eight-page, strongly worded letter to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the Virginia congressman called on the agency to revise its draft environmental impact statement, released in January.
Virginia Beach wants to draw water from Lake Gaston to meet the city's future needs. North Carolina and several environmental groups oppose the project, which has been stalled since the late 1980s by lawsuits and studies. Payne's district includes part of the Roanoke River basin, which drains into Lake Gaston.
Payne said the agency failed to consider the recent drop in population growth and demand for water in Virginia Beach, relied too heavily on information supplied by the city, and ignored water conservation measures that could be taken by the five-city Hampton Roads area.
FERC ignored the impact of new federal mandates for more efficient toilets and faucets that would reduce future demand, Payne said.
Further, the agency, which must issue a permit before the pipeline can be built, steamrolled the report, precluding effective participation the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and other key groups on the impact to wildlife, fish and wetlands, the congressman said.
A FERC spokeswoman said the public comment period on the draft closes this week. The agency will review those comments before deciding whether to revise the draft or continue with publication of a final environmental impact statement.
EPA postpones visit to Saltville
Because of inclement weather last week, the federal Environmental Protection Agency postponed its visit to Saltville to this week. The EPA has proposed a $50 million-plus plan to clean up the Superfund site left by years of manufacturing by Olin Corp.
The agency has held a public hearing on the plan, as required, but decided to re-visit the town for more informal meetings with interested citizens. Staff will be available on Wednesday from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. and from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., and on Thursday from 9 a.m. to noon at Saltville Town Hall. No sign-up required, just drop by with your questions and comments.
Correction
An item that ran in this column last week noted that Westvaco Corp. had announced plans to eliminate chlorine from its pulp-bleaching processes, including at the plant in Covington.
That's not entirely correct. The company will eliminate the use of "elemental" chlorine - a small difference on paper, company spokesman Robert Crockett says, but a big difference within the industry and environmental regulatory circles.
"There are chlorine containing compounds commonly used for pulp-bleaching which do not generate trace levels of dioxin sometimes associated with the use of elemental chlorine," Crockett explained. Westvaco will continue to use those other compounds, while spending $140 million and two years to eliminate the "elemental" chlorine.
Crockett also noted that dioxin, a carcinogenic by-product, is no longer detected in Westvaco's effluent.
River group gets grant
The National Committee for the New River recently received a $10,000 grant from the Kathleen Price and Joseph M. Brayn Family Foundation in Greensboro, N.C.
The money will be used primarily to support the group's North Carolina office, in Jefferson, and water quality projects in that state. The committee also has an office in Christiansburg that oversees issues affecting the New in Virginia.
The foundation supports North Carolina nonprofit initiatives that serve the arts, youth, education, health and the public interest. The river group, founded about 20 years ago to fight, successfully, an Appalachian Power Co. dam proposal for the New, now focuses on land trusts, improving water quality and pollution control and raising public awareness of threats to the river.
For more information, call (910) 982-9090 in North Carolina, or 381-1813 in Virginia.
by CNB