THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, July 23, 1994 TAG: 9407230205
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B4 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ESTHER DISKIN, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Short : 38 lines
The federal commission that controls the permit for the Lake Gaston pipeline filed a legal reply Friday to Virginia Beach's lawsuit seeking to speed up its decision-making.
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission said Virginia Beach has no grounds for its lawsuit because there has been no ``egregious'' delay in the process.
``The commission is, we submit, proceeding in a reasoned manner consistent with its statutory responsibilities . . . to carefully resolve the significant environmental issues involved here,'' said the formal response, filed in the Fourth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond.
The commission has begun an in-depth environmental study of the project, which is likely to take at least a year. It has had the application since February 1991.
Last week, Virginia Beach filed a lawsuit asking a judge to force the commission to decide on the pipeline by Aug. 25. It also filed a motion to get the lawsuit on a fast track in the docket.
On Friday, the city got its speedy schedule. The commission and the city must file written petitions by Sept. 1, and oral arguments are scheduled for late September, city officials said.
Those dates are after the Aug. 25 deadline, but city officials weren't complaining. ``That's much faster than things usually happen,'' said Scott Hart, a Richmond lawyer who is working on the city's case. MEMO: Main story on page B1.
KEYWORDS: LAKE GASTON PIPELINE WATER SUPPLY PLAN by CNB