THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, September 13, 1996 TAG: 9609130571
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B4 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY SCOTT HARPER, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: 61 lines
The State Water Control Board voted 7-0 Thursday to repeal Virginia's program that seeks to stop toxic industrial pollution of rivers, creeks and bays. State officials have sought a repeal for years, complaining of the program's flaws and bureaucracy.
The vote closes the book on a regulation passed amid much fanfare in 1988, and begins an era in which managers of big sewage plants, shipyards and industries will have more flexibility but face tighter deadlines in cutting toxic wastes.
Environmental groups believe this new system will open the door to weaker controls and more pollution. They argue that toxics, which can include mercury, lead and ammonia, will be managed not through a regimented program but through quiet negotiations between state officials and business executives.
``This is tantamount to throwing the baby out with the bathwater,'' said Kay Slaughter, staff attorney for the Southern Environmental Law Center in Charlottesville. ``We, along with other environmental groups, have urged (the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality) to fix the program, not eliminate it.''
The state water board rejected the repeal in May, asking state officials to meet with critics and reconsider the idea. But at a briefing in Richmond Wednesday, state officials said they remain convinced that their process will produce faster environmental results and pose fewer hurdles for businesses to jump.
Under the new system, which becomes effective immediately, any business or sewage plant whose discharge tests positive for toxicity must start devising a corrective strategy right away.
The strategy will then be written into a company's state water-pollution permit and must be implemented within the five-year life of the permit, said Bob Burnley, state director of environmental programs and evaluations.
Under the old process, a company could test toxic but delay drafting an action plan for years by pursuing further evaluations and monitoring, Burnley said.
The old program had its successes. As many as 40 companies have stopped discharging toxic substances into the environment since 1988, and 50 more are studying a remedy, officials have said.
As Burnley said Wednesday, officials just believe that clearing away the opportunities ``for studying a problem to death'' will hasten results.
While conceding that delay mechanisms existed in the old program, the staff attorney for the Chesapeake Bay Foundation in Virginia said he fears that without structure, the new system can be abused in a different way.
Attorney Roy A. Hoagland said he would not be surprised to see controversies arise like the one this spring surrounding a new state pollution permit for Newport News Shipbuilding.
In that case, state officials sought to remove specific limits on the release of TBT, a highly toxic boat paint additive, at the giant shipyard - a move that environmentalists found out about only through a fine-print legal ad in the local newspaper.
The TBT limits were eventually put back into the permit, but only after considerable debate and protest.
KEYWORDS: VIRGINIA STATE WATER CONTROL BOARD POLLUTION by CNB