Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, July 27, 1995 TAG: 9507270073
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: Medium
FERC's decision to grant a permit for a water intake facility on the hydroelectric lake that straddles the Virginia-North Carolina border had been expected, although it upset North Carolina opponents of the project.
``I am frightened that this issue is being left to the federal courts,'' said North Carolina state Sen. Roy Cooper, D-Nash. ``I'm concerned that if we lose, there will be no limit to what Virginia Beach or any other thirsty town could do to Lake Gaston.''
FERC's staff conducted an environmental study that concluded the project would not hurt the Roanoke River basin downstream from Lake Gaston.
``We now know more about this river than anyone except Mother Nature,'' Elizabeth A. Moler, FERC's chairwoman, said in a statement announcing the commission's decision.
``Our studies have been exhaustive,'' she said. ``We've required mitigative measures to protect fully those downstream in times of drought and to protect the fish.''
The FERC permit has been viewed as the final regulatory hurdle for the pipeline, which has been sought for more than a decade by Virginia Beach.
But U.S. District Judge Thomas F. Hogan in Washington issued a stay last week pending a ruling on North Carolina's argument that the state can veto the pipeline under the federal Coastal Zone Management Act.
Commerce Secretary Ron Brown, whose agency administers the coastal zone law, rejected North Carolina's veto, and the state appealed to Hogan. Hogan said he would issue a ruling by Sept. 22.
Thomas M. Leahy III, the Virginia Beach project manager for the Lake Gaston pipeline, said the delay won't affect the construction timetable. He said the city was prepared to begin construction in October or November.
Completion of the 76-mile pipeline is expected by June 1998.
``All in all, it's been a pretty productive couple of weeks,'' Leahy said of the FERC environmental report, issued July 7, and the commission's decision Wednesday.
Before that, however, talks between the city and North Carolina aimed at resolving the dispute failed to reach a settlement. North Carolina Gov. Jim Hunt said his state would resume its fight to defeat the project.
``The decision to grant the permit is misguided and flat-out wrong - although it's not totally unexpected,'' Cooper said. ``We just have to continue to fight the battle at every front.''
The North Carolina House approved a measure Wednesday that would give the state more explicit control over water within its boundaries.
Although the pipeline would be built entirely within Virginia, North Carolina has argued that it would hurt economic development, the environment and recreation downstream from the lake.
Virginia Beach, Virginia's largest city with 400,000 residents, contends it needs the water to overcome shortages that have led to several years of mandatory conservation measures.
The pipeline would carry up to 60 million gallons of water a day. Virginia Beach now buys all of neighboring Norfolk's 30 million gallons a day of surplus water.
by CNB