THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, February 7, 1995 TAG: 9502070308
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: VIRGINIA
SOURCE: BY KAREN JOLLY DAVIS, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 69 lines
Although funding for a new maximum-security prison outside Cape Charles was sliced last week, the issue hasn't died. Legislators dumped several requests to appropriate $85 million to build the prison, but can still approve about $2 million to buy land and plan for a facility.
The money can be used anywhere in the region. But a Corrections Department report says the state has no viable alternative to the Cape Charles site.
``I think $2 million is enough to keep it rolling,'' said Mary Miller of Eastville, who has lobbied against the prison.
Some prison opponents are relieved that the proposed funding is not tagged specifically to Northampton County. Bill Parr, who heads Citizens Opposed to the Prison, said the ambiguity of the new budget request makes it possible to build the proposed prison elsewhere.
``As long as it doesn't have Northampton County etched in stone in the funding, who cares about the $2 million?'' said Parr. ``We still have the governor and everyone in the General Assembly saying if the Board of Supervisors doesn't approve it, they won't put it here.''
However, a preliminary environmental impact report, submitted by the Department of Corrections and dated Jan. 23, said Virginia will need to build from 10 to 20 new prisons over the next 10 years to keep up with the expected inmate population.
``The DOC has a great need for additional facilities in the very near future,'' said the report. ``Taking no action on the Northampton property will delay the department's actions until another suitable site can be found and will only mean that another rural site somewhere in Virginia will be used. Not constructing a prison is not an alternative. Furthermore, this prison space is needed to house prisoners in August 1998. That deadline cannot be met if this site is not used.''
An environmental impact report is required by the Department of Environmental Quality before the state can build any major facility. Its purpose is to evaluate how the use of a location might affect a wide range of natural and cultural resources.
The Jan. 23 document said a corrections facility on the 277 acres outside Cape Charles will not affect local wetlands, migrating birds or recreational areas. It said the prison's ``effect on the surrounding community is expected to be minimal.''
Wells in Cape Charles should be able to supply the prison with water, said the report, but the sewerage treatment plant will need to be enlarged. The document said at least one road into the prison may need to be widened. And it recommends that a study be done of local historical sites.
There are some things the report doesn't say:
The prison would generate 6,335 pounds of trash a day, which would be deposited in the county landfill along with construction debris. As a result, the dump would need to be replaced more quickly than expected. There is no estimate of the impact this additional trash would make on county taxes.
There is no hurricane plan. The prison itself would be above flood levels. But locals wonder if the essential Cape Charles water and sewerage plants are also above flood levels. They worry that food supplies to the prison would be interrupted if there is a hurricane.
``I'm not sure the questions everyone has been asking have been addressed,'' said Miller. ILLUSTRATION: STAFF Illustration
PROPOSED PRISON IN NORTHAMPTON COUNTY
SOURCE: Virginia Department of Corrections
KEYWORDS: PRISON PROPOSED EASTERN SHORE by CNB