THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, November 19, 1994 TAG: 9411190454
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MAC DANIEL, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: WINDSOR LENGTH: Long : 121 lines
A proposed coal storage facility in Isle of Wight County that has pitted its supporters against residents and environmentalists for years has taken a significant step forward.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers this week granted the project preliminary approval.
The Norfolk Southern Corp. facility is to be located on about 1,600 acres southeast of Route 460 outside Windsor. The project has been stalled for several years after the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service opposed the plan, saying it would damage wetlands and wildlife.
With initial approval from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on Wednesday, a back-and-forth review begins between the three federal agencies. The corps will have the final say.
``We've made a preliminary decision to issue the permit,'' said Ken Kimidy, a senior environmental scientist with the corps. ``And I think, incorporating all of the safeguards, that we feel this project can be approved.''
Robert C. Fort, a spokesman for Norfolk Southern Corp., described the approval as ``an interim step, but a significant step . . . in a very long and complex process.''
To make up for wetlands that would be lost, the corps has suggested that 212 acres of forested wetlands be created on nearby farmland. The corps also proposes the establishment of 211 more acres of forest surrounding the facility.
The coal storage facility is expected to destroy an estimated 56 acres of wetlands. Kimidy said the nearest home is about 3,000 feet from the site.
The facility would be used to store coal from western Virginia before it is shipped to the Norfolk Southern docks at Lamberts Point in Norfolk. Some officials have said the facility could ultimately handle 40 million tons of coal a year.
About 657 pounds of coal dust a day is expected to enter the air, carrying with it potentially toxic metals that could coat vegetation in nearby fields, according to a report by the U.S. Department of the Interior.
Critics of the plan also say real estate values around the site will plummet once the storage facility is built.
Officials from the EPA and the Fish and Wildlife Service could not be reached for comment.
Since Norfolk Southern first announced plans to build the facility in 1989, it has been viewed as both a boon and bust for Isle of Wight County.
Residents criticized the project in 1992, but county officials supported it. That same year, state environmental agencies raised questions about the project's possibly polluting nearby water supplies.
And in September 1993, the EPA opposed the facility because of its potentially harmful impact on wetlands.
Kimidy said that the corps' decision now tells the EPA and the Fish and Wildlife Service that his agency believes that ``issuance of the permit for the placement of the coal facility in Isle of Wight would be OK.''
All agencies involved in the project must now review the record and return it to the corps for further study.
Should the EPA and the Fish and Wildlife Service issue no further objections, Kimidy said, the facility could receive final approval in as little as 30 days.
But Kimidy said he expected the process to take longer.
There are still concerns over how to replace the wetlands and whether a third loading loop should be added to the facility.
``Anything that involves coal handling and the railroad and the port ultimately is good economic development for this entire region,'' said Myles Standish, on his last day as county administrator for Isle of Wight County.
``I know that there are some citizens that are of the opinion that the project could have been built somewhere else or not at all. But the fact of the matter is that this region has to thrive and grow economically or it will suffer.''
Standish added that the Board of Supervisors' approval of the plan was predicated upon the project's meeting all the environmental steps.
According to the 26-page draft decision, corps officials found that the railroad's plans to minimize wetlands damage and compensate for 209 acres of lost wetlands complied with federal guidelines and would not irreparably damage waters for area wildlife.
``The remaining wetlands within the Eley Swamp and Ennis Pond watershed will continue to perform their original functions, although some will be performed to a somewhat lesser extent,'' the decision stated.
Still, the corps said it was concerned by the environmental problems pointed out by the other federal agencies. The corps agreed that not all of the wetland and wildlife losses can ever be completely compensated.
Both the EPA and the Fish and Wildlife Service oppose the coal facility, the report said, because the railroad's plan for recouping fish and wildlife losses do not meet their standards.
The corps concluded that it found no alternate sites that would cause less harm to residents or wildlife.
Three sites - one north of Route 460 and two to the south in Isle of Wight County - were investigated by a team of officials from state and federal agencies. The corps is required to decide whether any alternative sites could lessen the storage facility's impact.
But the effect on homes and wetlands at the other sites, the Corps concluded, was just as significant as at the proposed site. MEMO: Staff writers Francie Latour and Tony Wharton contributed to this
story.
TIMELINE
Aug. 11, 1989 - Norfolk Southern announces proposal to build $100
million coal-storage facility near Windsor in Isle of Wight County.
Nov. 20, 1990 - Norfolk Southern submits plans for coal-storage
facility to Isle of Wight County officials.
Jan. 8, 1991 - Windsor Town Council approves the facility.
Jan. 10, 1991 - Isle of Wight Board of Supervisors agrees to rezone
the land needed for Norfolk Southern project. Delays action on use
permit.
July 29, 1992 - Residents criticize project at public hearing by U.S.
Army Corps of Engineers. County officials support it.
October 1992 - State environmental agencies raise questions about
possible pollution by coal project of nearby water supplies.
June 1993 - Federal environmental officials ask for more studies of
impact of coal project.
September 1993 - U.S. Environmental Protection Agency opposes coal
project because of its impact on wetlands.
ILLUSTRATION: Color map
KEYWORDS: PERMIT COAL DUST NORFOLK SOUTHERN CORP. POLLUTION by CNB