THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, April 20, 1995 TAG: 9504200447
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B7 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: STAFF AND WIRE REPORT
DATELINE: DANVILLE LENGTH: Medium: 55 lines
Some Roanoke River Basin residents, upset that they were ignored in mediations between Virginia Beach and North Carolina over the Lake Gaston pipeline, said they may go to court to block any agreement.
The Danville City Council spent more than two hours in a closed-door meeting Tuesday night with attorney Patrick McSweeney, who represents the Roanoke River Basin Association.
``We will fight this by any means possible,'' Danville Mayor Seward Anderson told The Associated Press after the meeting. ``That includes further litigation. . . . We as a council feel this agreement is severely lacking. This is a sweetheart deal that would make the robber barons of the 19th century blush.''
North Carolina and Virginia Beach have not come to a final agreement, but are considering a mediated settlement plan that would give South Hampton Roads cities permission to take up to, but no more than, 60 million gallons of water a day from Lake Gaston.
The terms of the proposed settlement, made public earlier this month, would also require Virginia Beach to reduce its use of Lake Gaston water during severe drought conditions. Northeastern North Carolina cities would be permitted to draw up to 35 million gallons of water a day from the lake, which straddles the North Carolina-Virginia border.
In addition, Virginia would agree to widen two highways frequented by tourists that connect Hampton Roads with North Carolina's Outer Banks.
Virginia Beach, which has led the fight for the 76-mile pipeline because it would draw the most water from it, has been battling opponents in North Carolina and the Roanoke River Basin for more than a decade.
When the proposed deal was announced, Southside legislators and residents cried foul because they were not included in the process. But Tuesday, association officials announced that they had been invited to participate.
``We would be negligent if we didn't try to participate in every way to enhance and protect the basin and are trying to have our voice heard,'' said Del. Frank Ruff, a Clarksville Republican who is vice-chairman of the association. ``I don't think it changes any long-term policy of the . . . association.''
Danville area legislators met Tuesday in Chatham to review the proposed agreement. They later said they hoped to be allowed ``meaningful participation.''
The mediator, Washington attorney John Bickerman, declined to comment Tuesday on the association's possible involvement in the negotiations.
Pipeline opponents have said that they feared that the agreement would encourage other localities to come looking for water in Southside Virginia.
KEYWORDS: LAKE GASTON WATER SUPPLY PLAN TIDEWATER by CNB