THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, March 9, 1996 TAG: 9603090445
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA FINAL
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: LAWRENCEVILLE LENGTH: Short : 46 lines
Brunswick County and Virginia Beach have reached a deal that will allow the city to build a pumping operation and 20 miles of pipeline to withdraw water from Lake Gaston.
County supervisors approved the project in 1989, then later adopted a zoning ordinance requiring a special permit. A county zoning administrator ruled two months ago that Virginia Beach needed the permit to go forward with the project.
But a county zoning panel unanimously approved the compromise late Wednesday.
The county agreed as part of the deal to let the city proceed without the permit.
Virginia Beach accepted numerous conditions designed to minimize construction impact on nearby homes.
The settlement marks the latest obstacle overcome by Virginia Beach in its efforts to draw water from the lake straddling the Virginia-North Carolina border. North Carolina officials fought for years to stop the pipeline project, claiming it would harm their state's environment.
``I guess a good compromise is one where everyone is a little bit happy and a little bit unhappy, and that's what we got,'' said Brunswick's county attorney, Russell Slayton.
Trying to get the special permit could have meant construction delays and would have forced Virginia Beach to present its case at public hearings.
Virginia Beach's public utilities director, Clarence O. Warnstaff, said the city was pleased.
``It's been our goal all along to work out the concerns expressed by the various jurisdictions in a way that was basically a win-win,'' he said.
Virginia Beach officials said Thursday they hope to begin construction in the county by April 1.
KEYWORDS: LAKE GASTON PIPELINE by CNB