THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, February 6, 1997 TAG: 9702060403
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B5 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: STAFF REPORT
LENGTH: 32 lines
The Georgia Attorney General has withdrawn his name from a brief supporting North Carolina's legal challenge to the Lake Gaston pipeline.
Georgia's Michael J. Bowers was one of 40 attorneys general who co-signed the brief, arguing that North Carolina should be allowed veto power over the pipeline.
In a petition filed Tuesday, Robert S. Bomar, senior assistant attorney general, said Bowers changed his position after reading a brief filed by the U.S. Justice Department and after he ``became more familiar with the relevant facts in the matter.''
Virginia Attorney General James S. Gilmore, a pipeline proponent, sent a letter to all 40 attorneys general late last year, suggesting that they may not have had all the facts when they picked sides in the case.
Vermont's attorney general responded in early January, saying he knew exactly what he was supporting when he authored the brief.
None of the other attorneys general has responded.
At issue is whether the U.S. Clean Water Act gives North Carolina, or just Virginia, permitting rights over the 76-mile pipeline. Virginia signed off on the project years ago.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit is now considering the dispute and is expected to rule within the next six months.
KEYWORDS: LAKE GASTON