THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, March 21, 1996 TAG: 9603210415
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY SCOTT HARPER, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 79 lines
Hampton Roads thought it was home free.
After two consecutive smog-less summers, regional leaders proclaimed last year that federal environmental restrictions imposed on polluted cities should soon be lifted here, along with the threat of mandatory auto inspections and new emission limits on local business and industry.
But Wednesday, an official with the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality explained that Hampton Roads will have to wait another year before celebrating - and also hope that this summer's smog season does not push the region back into trouble.
Hampton Roads remains in limbo because the state staff did not complete and submit necessary plans to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and because Gov. George F. Allen has not appointed a special committee required by law to help craft such plans, said James E. Sydnor, a state administrator for air-pollution control.
Needless to say, his explanation to local government leaders assembled in Chesapeake was not well-received or well-timed.
Just Tuesday, Richmond won a key waiver from the federal government that will relieve new businesses in the capital area, including the proposed $3 billion Motorola manufacturing plant, from expensive measures to reduce nitrogen oxide, a building block of smog.
``It looks like Richmond's been taken care of, and we'd like to be taken care of, too,'' snapped Art Collins, executive director of the Hampton Roads Planning District Commission, host of the meeting.
Added an angry Joe Frank, a Newport News city councilman: ``I thought the state was supposed to help us, not act as a barrier.''
State environmental staff were busy with compliance plans for Richmond and Northern Virginia already, he said, leaving no time for Hampton Roads.
It did not help that ``two or three'' smog planners were lost in the past year through government downsizing and department buy-out programs, Sydnor added.
According to the federal Clean Air Act, Hampton Roads could jeopardize its status only if the region experiences four days of excessive ground ozone, or smog, during the upcoming smog season.
The season runs from late spring to late summer, when intense sunlight helps create smog. It mixes with nitrogen oxide and hydrocarbons that are belched from such sources as auto tailpipes, paints, solvents and industrial plants. Even bakeries and dry cleaners emit smog-producing fumes.
Excessive ground ozone is a proven health hazard, especially in the respiratory systems of young children and the elderly, according to the American Lung Association.
Hampton Roads has not weathered four days of heavy smog since 1988, when air-quality stations registered five exceedances of federal health standards. The most violations on record came in 1983, with seven days of high smog counts, according to state statistics.
While local officials are confident that the region will win dismissal from the EPA's list of smoggy cities, perhaps as early as next year after an expected mild smog season, they question why Hampton Roads has to sweat out another season.
``It seems like a little planning could have taken care of all of this,'' Frank told Sydnor Wednesday.
Afterward, Sydnor said that it requires ``a lot more than sitting down and writing a memo'' to the EPA to officially be declared a clean-air region. Virginia must submit detailed plans outlining how Hampton Roads intends to keep smog readings at their current level for the next 10 years.
What peeved several local officials Wednesday was that the governor has yet to appoint a committee to help staffers draft clean-air plans. They said they gave the Allen administration a list of recommended members more than a year ago, then followed up with a reminder letter.
``I honestly haven't a clue what could be the reason'' for the delay, said Dwight Farmer, director of transportation for the Hampton Roads Planning District Commission.
Sydnor said the governor is expected to announce committee members in ``two or three weeks.''
KEYWORDS: AIR POLLUTION SMOG AIR QUALITY by CNB