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

DATE: FRIDAY, April 7, 1995                   TAG: 9504070070
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: B-5   EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY 
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: RALEIGH, N.C.                                LENGTH: Short

WATER DISPUTE SETTLEMENT PROPOSED

A federal mediator has proposed a settlement that could end the 12-year legal battle between North Carolina and Virginia over shipping water from Lake Gaston to Virginia Beach.

The settlement would prohibit future withdrawals if the states agree to it and would require that Virginia Beach stop withdrawals during times of drought.

In 1983, Virginia Beach proposed taking as much as 60 million gallons of water a day from the lake, which straddles the state line between Interstate 85 and Roanoke Rapids.

North Carolina Gov. Jim Hunt said he and Sen. Jesse Helms, R-N.C., have studied the proposal.

``We agree that this proposal has advantages for North Carolina. We will review the proposal very carefully before we make any decisions for North Carolina,'' Hunt said.

Sen. John Warner, R-Va., said the proposal was a responsible step in trying to resolve the dispute.

Memo: Shorter version ran in Metro edition<.

by CNB