THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, May 16, 1995 TAG: 9505160283
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY MASON PETERS, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: RALEIGH LENGTH: Long : 117 lines
That regional marriage compact between North Carolina and Virginia Beach to pipe Lake Gaston water to the resort city is far from consummated, and some Tar Heel relatives of the bride may join Norfolk in causing trouble before the scheduled June wedding.
``We want to be sure that Virginia signs and seals a pledge to help pay for diverting any water to Northeastern North Carolina under the agreement,'' said R.V. ``Bobby'' Owens, chairman of the Dare County Commissioners and eastern representative for Gov. James B. Hunt Jr.
Three weeks ago, North Carolina and Virginia Beach officials signed a truce in their 12 1/2-year water war. North Carolina agreed to let Virginia take up to 60 million gallons of water per day from Lake Gaston, in exchange for certain concessions from Virginia.
Part of the agreement must be ratified by both state legislatures and Congress before being finalized.
The need for that political approval has led to heavy politicking on both sides of the state line.
A proviso in the proposed water pact would permit up to 15 million daily gallons of Lake Gaston water from the pipeline to be sold to Northeastern North Carolina counties, including Currituck and Pasquotank.
Virginia Beach City Manager James K. Spore said the Beach will help North Carolina get Gaston water south to the Outer Banks, but ``any cost associated with getting that 15 million gallons of water to them would have to be borne by Northeast North Carolina.''
Owens also is interested in guaranteeing better roads between Southeastern Virginia and Northeastern North Carolina, as provided in the settlement.
``We also want to see something in writing that tells us when Virginia will widen Virginia 168 in Chesapeake to our state line in Currituck County and also when widening of U.S. 17 will begin,'' Owens said last week.
Spore saw no problem in the request.
``The state of Virginia is going to have to submit something to North Carolina that is going to be acceptable,'' Spore said. ``We have always discussed providing them with written assurances and a schedule on both projects.''
A pledge to expedite the Virginia highway construction is part of the proposed deal in which North Carolina would drop objections to the $140 million Lake Gaston project. ``That's one of the items that we have until the 27th of June to provide,'' Spore said.
At present, two congested lanes of Virginia Route 168 carry most of the summer Outer Banks tourist traffic south to the state line near Moyock, where North Carolina is widening N.C. Route 168. Several years ago the state Department of Transportation finished widening U.S. Route 17 to four lanes to the Virginia line, but the highway that carries hundreds of daily commuters to Tidewater becomes two lanes along the Dismal Swamp Canal in Chesapeake.
Meanwhile, Norfolk state and city officials last week complained that they were not adequately consulted before North Carolina and Virginia Beach officials signed the regional agreement two weeks ago that would end Tar Heel opposition to the 76-mile pipeline from Lake Gaston to a Norfolk reservoir in Isle of Wight County.
Before any water can flow through the pipeline, the legislatures in both states must approve the compact which would allow South Hampton Roads to withdraw no more than 60 million gallons of water daily from the lake, which straddles the state line.
The speaker of the Virginia House, Thomas W. Moss Jr., D-Norfolk, said last week that renegotiation of the Lake Gaston agreement might be necessary to resolve Norfolk's concerns. When the pipeline begins operating, Norfolk stands to lose $6 million a year that Virginia Beach now pays for Norfolk water.
In Raleigh, a spokesman for state Sen. Marc Basnight, D-Dare, said he thought the North Carolina General Assembly would ratify the water agreement before the agreed June 27 deadline. Basnight, president pro-tem of the North Carolina Senate, is Bobby Owens' brother-in-law.
Basnight's optimism came before Bobby Owens and other officials in Northeastern North Carolina began talking about unresolved problems growing out of the Lake Gaston negotiations.
As early as February 1994, William C. ``Bill'' Owens Jr. (no relation to Bobby Owens), of Elizabeth City, who was then running successfully for the legislature, called for a ``regional water task force'' that would be organized by the Albemarle Commission. The Albemarle Commission is a 10-county development group with headquarters at Hertford in Perquimans County.
Last week, after Rep. Bill Owens and Hal Walker, director of the Albemarle Commission, discussed regional water task force developments, Bobby Owens started talking about charging Virginia Beach for any Lake Gaston water piped to North Carolina.
``It's our water,'' said Bobby Owens. ``Why shouldn't they pay for it?''
Both Currituck and Pasquotank County officials agree their counties urgently need Lake Gaston water. But Currituck will have to negotiate its own project to tap off of Virginia Beach's pipeline supply.
A direct connection down the Atlantic shoreline to the Currituck Outer Banks - where the water is most needed - would likely involve crossing a federal wildlife refuge with all the environmental complications that would bring.
In Elizabeth City, Randy Keaton, manager of Pasquotank County, said he would welcome any cost-effective way to use Lake Gaston water to avoid embarking on an expensive expansion of present deep well facilities. But Keaton and the Pasquotank County Commissioners will probably be guided by the recommendations of state Rep. Bill Owens and the Albemarle Commission's water task force.
``We need to learn a lot more,'' said Bill Owens, ``But I'm told there is at least one deep well in Chowan County near Edenton that is producing 1,300 gallons of water a minute. That's encouraging.''
Meanwhile, Bobby Owens on Thursday spoke proudly of Dare County's success in the reverse osmosis desalination of water - a success that will result soon in construction of a second Dare County water recovery plant in Kill Devil Hills.
``We're making water for a competitive $1.25 per 1,000 gallons,'' said Bobby Owens.
Perceptions that Lake Gaston water isn't needed in Northeastern North Carolina, coupled with opposition in Norfolk and in Virginia's Roanoke River valley upstream from the lake, could prompt North Carolina legislators to reject the pact.
The state House of Representatives went Republican in the last elections and in the state Senate Basnight has a mere three-vote Democratic edge.
KEYWORDS: LAKE GASTON WATER SUPPLY PLAN TIDEWATER by CNB