THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, October 9, 1995 TAG: 9510090056
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: CLARKSVILLE, VA. LENGTH: Medium: 55 lines
Federal proposals to sell all or part of Buggs Island Lake's power-generating and recreational facilities are pitting proponents of local growth against rural electrical cooperatives.
The 50,000-acre man-made lake, also known as Kerr Lake, is in Southside Virginia along the North Carolina border. It is owned by the Southeast Electrical Power Administration, a federal agency that owns 22 other lakes in the Southeast.
Since early this year, Congress has been considering selling the administration's assets to trim the federal government's scope.
The House Resource Committee voted recently to include the dams, locks, lakes and federal lands surrounding those lakes in an auction. Bidding would begin at $1.4 billion.
The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, which oversees the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, favors a plan to sell only the generators and electric equipment, not the property itself.
Both proposals are aimed at getting the government out of the business of generating electricity.
But rural electric cooperatives oppose both plans. They contend that selling the generating equipment would mean higher electricity rates for rural customers. Cooperatives buy electricity from the power administration for less than they could on the open market.
The co-ops said the sale would be a shortsighted way to decrease the budget deficit.
``You're talking about selling something for 10 years of profit, then losing it forever,'' said Richard Johnstone, director of communications at the Virginia Association of Electric Cooperatives.
But people who live near the lake said it has failed to bring all the economic advantages to the region that it could.
Residents have long complained that the federal government places too many restrictions on lakeside development. They said the sale would generate an economic boom in Southside Virginia and northern North Carolina.
``It's a huge body of water, a tremendous recreational opportunity that lacks basic services because of the restrictive policies toward commercial development,'' said Charles Simmons, a Clarksville real estate agent and frequent critic of federal management of the lake.
Only three marinas and one motel overlook the lake. There are no lakeside restaurants.
But other residents wonder what would happen to the state, local and federal parks, boat landings and recreational areas if the property is sold. The attractions draw 3 million visitors to the lake each year. by CNB