Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, March 14, 1995 TAG: 9503140107
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C3 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: Medium
The letter, addressed to the secretary of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, is an analysis of the commission's draft environmental impact statement of the Lake Gaston project. Pickett, D-Virginia Beach, said he received a copy last week.
Pickett said the letter favorably reviews the statement and concludes that all that is needed is for the key parties to the project to develop an acceptable six- to 10-year plan for withdrawing water from the lake on the Virginia-North Carolina border.
Officials in North Carolina, which opposes the project, interpreted the letter differently.
``We're pleased,'' said Alan Hirsch, North Carolina's special deputy attorney general. The EPA letter shows that serious questions haven't been addressed, he said. ``It's just been done too quickly.''
FERC's draft environmental impact statement, issued Jan. 20, said the pipeline is the city's best option for obtaining water and that it would cause virtually no harm. Comments on the draft statement are due Monday, and a final statement is expected this summer.
Lake Gaston serves a hydroelectric power plant operated by Virginia Power. Since FERC licenses private power plants, it must approve the pipeline.
Opponents of the pipeline have argued that the project would seriously deplete the flow of the Roanoke River, which feeds the lake, threatening fish and endangering northeastern North Carolina's economic livelihood.
The EPA letter noted that because debate over the pipeline ``is so contentious,'' Virginia Beach must prove beyond a shadow of doubt that, without Lake Gaston, it does not have enough water to meet current and future needs.
To do that, more information is needed, the EPA letter said.
Pickett dismissed the EPA's concerns as little more than bureaucracy in action - or inaction.
``Some additional paperwork will take care of this, but there is nothing of any substance that needs to be done,'' Pickett said. ``This is a giant step toward concluding this permitting process.''
The EPA letter says the FERC report is ``well written in many respects and the scope of analysis was appropriate,'' but suggests additional time for public comment when the final report is issued.
Pickett opposes any extension, noting that Virginia Beach needs final approval before June so Norfolk can begin expanding its water treatment system to handle the 60 million gallons a day that would be siphoned out of Lake Gaston.
North Carolina has a federal injunction to stop construction of the pipeline until the FERC makes a final decision.
by CNB