THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, July 21, 1994 TAG: 9407210531
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B4 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY JOE TAYLOR, ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: Short : 49 lines
A public hearing Wednesday on the proposed Lake Gaston water pipeline turned into a bash-the-bureaucrats forum for backers who think the idea has been studied enough.
``It should be clear that there has been gross misconduct by the federal establishment in the handling of this project,'' said Rep. Owen B. Pickett, a Democrat whose 2nd District includes Virginia Beach, which wants the water.
``There's been no water to help these people who asked for this project more than a decade ago, but plenty of paperwork,'' said Rep. Norman Sisisky, whose 4th District includes Lake Gaston. ``This project has passed muster at every test, and it's time for decisive action.''
As speaker after speaker blasted the failure of Washington regulators to let the pipeline go forward after numerous environmental studies, a Federal Energy Regulatory Commission panel conducting the hearing sat and listened.
Last month, FERC said it will prepare a full environmental review of the 76-mile pipeline, even though previous studies have shown no adverse impact at the proposed maximum withdrawal rate of 60 million gallons a day.
North Carolina officials contend the withdrawal would hurt the sensitive coastal environment in their state, downstream from the lake, and that taking away that much water would hamper the region's economic development as well.
The FERC hearing was the third and last in a series to set the scope of the agency's review, which could take a year or longer to complete. FERC's approval is needed because Lake Gaston is owned by Virginia Power.
The two earlier FERC hearings, last week in Raleigh and Monday night in South Hill, were dominated by pipeline opponents. But the 300 people who attended the Virginia Beach hearing clearly supported the project.
Most speakers were officials of local governments who cited the Hampton Roads water shortage. Virginia Beach residents have spent the past couple of years coping with mandatory restrictions on things such as washing cars and sprinkling lawns.
Still, said a frustrated Virginia Beach Mayor Meyera Oberndorf, the studies go on. She said North Carolina is engaging in a strategy of ``winning by losing slowly,'' using every available regulatory roadblock.
KEYWORDS: LAKE GASTON PIPELINE WATER SUPPLY PLAN
by CNB