Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, June 21, 1995 TAG: 9506210118
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: CATHRYN McCUE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Most Virginians agree that government ought to be reined in, but say "hands off" when it comes to skimping on rules that protect clean water, air and land, according to a poll released Tuesday.
Fifty-five percent of the 1,014 Virginians surveyed last month by a nonprofit environmental group said they oppose cutting environmental regulations.
But a majority - about 66 percent - said they like the anti-regulatory focus of congressional Republicans' "Contract With America," and of Gov. George Allen's administration.
"This is a very conservative electorate," said Gerald McCarthy, executive director of the Virginia Environmental Endowment, which commissioned the poll. "Despite that, they have just as much, if not more support for 'Don't screw around with my environment.'''
The strongest vote came in support of planning for development and economic growth in a way that doesn't endanger the environment, with 88 percent saying yes.
Other issues in the 24-question poll include:
Reduce historical site protections - 59 percent no.
Privatize management of state parks - 66 percent no.
Allow citizens to challenge environmental permits in court - 62 percent yes.
Reduce regulation of drinking water - 71 percent no.
Reduce regulation of water pollution - 71 percent no.
The poll contains a 2.4 percent margin of error. It was done by Dick Morris, a national Republican consultant who recently gained notoriety for advising President Clinton on strategies for reducting the federal deficit.
"One of the reasons we hired him is because he works for both sides, and he's credible on both sides," McCarthy said. He declined to say how much the poll cost.
The group hand-delivered copies to the governor's office and others in the administration, and sent a copy to each legislator.
Julie Overy, spokeswoman for Secretary of Natural Resources Becky Norton Dunlop, said she saw no surprises in the poll.
"It generally supports what we're doing," Overy said. She noted that more Virginians - 52 percent - want more flexible environmental regulations, versus the 39 percent who would leave them as is.
Allen has come under fire from environmentalists on several fronts, including cutbacks in staff at environmental agencies, his legal challenges to federal environmental laws, and his sweeping directive that all state agencies ferret out burdensome, ineffective rules that serve no public benefit.
The goal is to streamline what is often a confusing process and focus on compliance rather than punishment, Overy said. "No one has said we're going to go over to the Department of Environmental Quality and throw regulations out the window."
In the poll, many Virginians said they don't trust businesses to reduce pollution on their own. They also think the environment has gotten better in recent years, and tend to attribute environmental protection gains more to citizen action than government regulation, and more to government than corporate responsibility.
The poll is the first comprehensive survey on these issues in several years. "It lets us know how Virginians feel about the environment. There's absolutely no wishy-washiness about it," McCarthy said.
The Virginia Environmental Endowment awards grants to dozens of projects throughout the state every year, from elementary school recycling programs to watershed protection in the Shenandoah Valley. Its seed money came from a $13.2 million fine against a Hopewell industry in 1976 that dumped pesticides in the James River.
by CNB