THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, February 3, 1995 TAG: 9502030585
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B4 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Medium: 59 lines
An EPA rule that would allow citizens to challenge water pollution permits issued to businesses ``looks very political,'' a spokeswoman for Secretary of Natural Resources Becky Norton Dunlop said Thursday.
``The secretary's response is a question: why is the EPA doing this now?'' spokeswoman Julie Overy said. ``We've had the same water program in place for years, we have the controls in place and we've never had a problem with the EPA that couldn't be resolved. I think the whole thing looks very political.''
Peter H. Kostmayer, regional director of the Environmental Protection Agency, said Wednesday that the agency drafted the new rule in response to requests from the Chesapeake Bay Foundation and other environmental groups.
In a letter to the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, Kostmayer also said the EPA will begin reviewing major permits until the dispute is settled with Virginia. He said comments from citizens will be included in determining what pollutants companies can legally discharge into state waters.
Virginia is the only state that bars such citizen challenges.
It is unclear is how the permit process will work and what effect federal oversight will have on businesses and utilities seeking state discharge permits, Overy said.
``Our water program can withstand scrutiny - we're not worried about that,'' Overy said. ``We just hope it's not going to be a bureaucratic thing that's going to slow down the ability of people in Virginia to get water permits.''
The new federal rule may also set the stage for another fight between Gov. George F. Allen and the EPA.
Allen - who makes no secret of his dislike for federal environmental mandates - already has sued the federal government over a nearly identical action taken by the EPA last year regarding Virginia's clean-air program.
In that case, which remains unresolved, the EPA rejected Virginia's overall plan to comply with the Clean Air Act because citizens have no ``standing'' to sue companies over air-quality permits.
``In my opinion, it would depend how it's implemented,'' Overy said of a potential battle. ``The potential for a fight is there, but it's not a given.''
Environmentalists, noting that their concerns for the state's water-pollution program date back before Allen was elected, welcomed EPA's action.
``It's a step in the right direction, for sure,'' said Roy Hoagland, general counsel for the Chesapeake Bay Foundation in Richmond. ``The EPA is saying, `Yes, there's problems and we're going to make sure they're fixed.'''
Coincidentally, the EPA action came the same day a state House committee killed a bill that would empower Virginia citizens to challenge air and water pollution permits. by CNB