THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, November 16, 1995 TAG: 9511160256
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: By MASON PETERS, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 90 lines
North Carolina's two Republican senators, with the support of Democratic Gov. James B. Hunt Jr., introduced legislation in Congress Wednesday in yet another effort to prevent Virginia Beach from piping Lake Gaston water to the resort city.
Sen. Jesse Helms, senior member of the North Carolina congressional delegation, asked the U.S. Senate to amend federal law so that any state removing water from a neighboring state would have to have ``certification'' from the donor state that the water removal would do no harm.
Helms was joined by Sen. Lauch Faircloth in introducing the legislation.
``This has the complete support of Gov. Hunt,'' said Rachel Perry, the North Carolina Democratic governor's spokesperson in Raleigh. ``The governor has worked closely with Sen. Helms on this - they often talk on the phone late at night.''
Virginia Beach has already begun building a $143 million pipeline to remove up to 60,000 gallons of water a day from Lake Gaston. The lake straddles the North Carolina-Virginia border about 85 miles west of Virginia Beach.
``Our bill stops the withdrawal of water from the lake until the federal bureaucrats listen to the concerns of countless thousands of citizens of both North Carolina and Virginia,'' Helms said in introducing the Lake Gaston Protection Act of 1995 soon after the Senate convened Wednesday.
``The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission should have obtained certification from. . . North Carolina that there would be no degradation of water quality or the environment.
``Instead, FERC ran roughshod over the concerns of North Carolina,'' Helms said.
For nearly 10 years, Virginia Beach has sought to reach an agreement with North Carolina to withdraw water from Lake Gaston.
Many federal agencies have been involved in the dispute and, on June 26, with the help of a federal mediator, representatives of both states approved a tentative settlement.
Virginia Sens. Charles Robb and John W. Warner wrote a letter approving the agreement, but neither state formally approved the pact.
``The settlement was subject to ratification of an interstate compact by both state legislatures and approval by Congress,'' Helms said. ``As of now neither state has ratified the compact.''
Helms contended the FERC failed to conduct studies requested by several agencies, including the Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the National Marine Fisheries Service and independent biologists.
Faircloth blamed Virginia Beach for ``refusing to return'' to the negotiating table.
``Last spring the two states came very close to resolving the issue and actually had a settlement ready, waiting for ratification by the states and Congress,'' Faircloth said. ``Unfortunately logistical problems prevented the settlement from being finalized by the Virginia legislature before their adjournment.''
George Howard, Faircloth's legislative aide, said preparation of the Lake Gaston legislation ``began about a month ago when it was apparent that Virginia Beach was planning to build the pipeline and the Environmental Protection Agency wasn't going to do anything about it.''
State Sen. Marc Basnight, a Manteo Democrat, spent many months earlier this year trying to smooth the way for an agreement with Virginia that would exchange Lake Gaston water for improved Virginia highways leading into North Carolina.
Basnight, the influential leader of the North Carolina Senate, worked closely with Virginia state Sen. Kenneth Stolle, a Virginia Beach Republican, during preliminary talks to settle the Gaston controversy.
But in their Senate legislation, Helms and Faircloth said the removal of Lake Gaston water would have ``dire'' consequences to the commercial and recreational fishing industry downstream from the lake.
Helms said the FERC ``failed to consider either the environmental problems or the adverse impact on striped bass and other fish species'' that the removal of Lake Gaston water would have in North Carolina's downstream waters.
``A sharply reduced quantity of water flowing through the lower Roanoke River basin may very well be harmful to the estuaries of the Albemarle Sound in the spawning of many fish species,'' Helms said. ILLUSTRATION: Photos
Jesse Helms
Lauch Faircloth
KEYWORDS: WATER SUPPLY PLAN TIDEWATER VIRGINIA LAKE
GASTON by CNB