THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, August 26, 1995 TAG: 9508260377
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B5 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY KAREN WEINTRAUB, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Short : 38 lines
Opponents of the Lake Gaston pipeline filed an appeal Friday with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, asking the agency to reconsider its decision to allow construction of the 76-mile pipeline.
The Roanoke River Basin Association, a group of business, political and civic leaders in south-central Virginia, and the state of North Carolina filed a 50-page request asking for the decision to be revoked or modified.
The request repeats opponents' argument that southeastern Virginia does not need the 60 million gallons of water a day the pipeline would provide, and their request for a formal hearing on the question of need.
It also says Virginia Beach failed to get adequate permits for the pipeline; and that the FERC decision failed to require Virginia Beach to use all local sources of water before tapping the pipeline.
The appeal ``was not unexpected,'' Virginia Beach City Councilman Louis R. Jones, the council's lead Gaston negotiator, said Friday. Virginia Beach has argued for more than a dozen years that it needs the pipeline to provide a reliable source of water for its residents.
In other Gaston-related news Friday, the head of the Environmental Protection Agency sent her counterpart at FERC a letter supporting the now-dead settlement that Virginia Beach had negotiated with North Carolina.
The settlement expired June 30, victim to political squabbling between Republican Gov. George F. Allen, state Democratic leaders, Virginia Beach officials and legislators from Southside and Northern Virginia. North Carolina has continued to support the settlement, but only if it is backed by the Virginia legislature. by CNB