THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, September 18, 1996 TAG: 9609180444
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MAC DANIEL, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHESAPEAKE LENGTH: 66 lines
ST. BRIDES.
TUESDAY: STATE AGREES TO NOTIFY CITY ABOUT ALL FUTURE SPILLS.
One day after accusing state environmental and prison officials of keeping the city in the dark about sewage spills into Indian Creek, embarrassed Chesapeake city officials found out that they had, in fact, been notified.
Chesapeake Mayor William E. Ward publicly apologized Tuesday to officials from the state Department of Environmental Quality and Department of Corrections ``for our not being aware and giving the impression that we had not been notified.''
Between March 29, 1994, and March 24, 1995, officials at the city water plant received 13 overflow notifications from the state Health Department. Word apparently never got back to City Hall or Amar Dwarkanath, Chesapeake's director of public utilities.
Officials from the DEQ, the state Department of Corrections and the state Health Department met with Chesapeake city officials and lawmakers Tuesday afternoon to iron out the problems.
In the end, according to Ward, both sides agreed that, regardless of the amount of overflow coming from the St. Brides Correctional Center, city officials would be notified.
``Our meeting today has given us a level of comfort that nothing has impacted our water system,'' Ward said.
State law dictates that if a major sewage spill threatens water quality, the DEQ will notify the city. If a smaller spill occurs, the state Health Department would inform managers at the city water treatment plant, located near St. Brides.
The city's apology came one day after state Del. Lionell Spruill Sr. and Chesapeake city officials hastily called a news conference to accuse state prison and environmental officials of keeping the city in the dark about the spills from St. Brides.
On Monday, officials from the Department of Environmental Quality disputed the charges. Frank Daniel, the DEQ's regional director, said Chesapeake had indeed been notified of the spills by the state Health Department.
Daniel also said that St. Brides had upgraded its sewage plant since 1994, when the overflows occurred, and the plant now runs fine.
Indian Creek in southern Chesapeake flows into Northwest River Park and is a tributary of the Northwest River, the city's main source of drinking water.
Despite the city's assurances that all is well, Spruill said he still doubts the safety of the sewage treatment plant at St. Brides and plans to continue pushing.
``I truly believe that city officials should not be satisfied,'' Spruill said.
Spruill said he and other members of the General Assembly's Black Caucus are mounting a campaign against the state Department of Corrections and their treatment of African-American personnel.
Spruill, a former Chesapeake city councilman, said he found out about the overflows on Sept. 8 from employees and former employees at St. Brides, whom, he claimed, had been demoted or transferred after they had threatened to release the information.
According to city officials, water quality in Chesapeake was never affected by the spills.
KEYWORDS: CHESAPEAKE SEWAGE SPILLS SAINT BRIDES
CORRECTIONAL CENTER by CNB