DATE: Saturday, November 15, 1997           TAG: 9711150558

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B10  EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY SCOTT HARPER, STAFF WRITER 

                                            LENGTH:   65 lines

EASTERN SHORE, LOCAL FARMS TO GET WATER QUALITY FUNDS ENVIRONMENTALISTS SAY BIG COMPANIES WERE GIVEN TOO MUCH OF THE STATE MONEY

Farms and agribusinesses in Hampton Roads and the Eastern Shore will get about $400,000 under a new environmental program that aims to clean up the Chesapeake Bay and other state waters, Gov. George F. Allen announced Friday.

Almost half of the money is going to two major producers of hogs and poultry - Carroll's Foods of Virginia Inc. and Perdue Farms Inc. - in hope of curbing the amount of animal-waste pollution that each sends into local streams.

While applauding the program, some environmentalists questioned giving so much money to such well-heeled conglomerates. They noted that the State Water Quality Improvement Fund, created this year by the General Assembly, was supposed to aid small farms and low-budget businesses.

``The intent was never to pay for major factory farms like these,'' said Roy A. Hoagland, assistant director of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation in Virginia. ``This was supposed to help the small guy, the municipalities, the people who don't have the money to invest in these environmental technologies.''

The general manager for Carroll's Foods, which raises about 700,000 hogs a year at 21 farms in Isle of Wight, Southampton, Surry and Sussex counties, rejected such criticism.

``You won't get more effective use of your dollar than what the state's putting up here,'' said general manager Adolph Miller. ``We're talking about making a big shift in our operations, and that's going to have a significant impact on the environment.''

With $165,000 in state grants, Carroll's Foods and Perdue Farms will change how they feed their livestock. Both will be adding an enzyme called phytase to their animal foods that reduces levels of phosphorus in hog and chicken excrement.

Miller estimated that phytase will cut the amount of phosphorus coming from company hogs by about 40 percent, from 21,000 pounds a week to 12,000 pounds.

Excessive phosphorus and nitrogen from animal manure is believed to spark the toxic microbe Pfiesteria piscicida, which can kill fish and may sicken humans. The two nutrients also are chief targets in the Chesapeake Bay cleanup campaign, under which states from Virginia to Pennsylvania are pledging to reduce their levels of phosphorus and nitrogen by 40 percent by the year 2000.

If the goal is achieved, scientists believe the Bay's water quality will greatly improve, allowing more fish and underwater grasses to thrive and reducing the threat of algae blooms and fish kills.

In all, the governor announced $2.5 million in state grants under the newly created clean-water fund. Water and soil conservation districts and agribusinesses in southwest Virginia received the most, garnering $1.3 million.

Southside Virginia was given about $600,000 in environmental grants, Botetourt County was awarded $200,000, and Hampton Roads and the Eastern Shore got $400,000, according to Gary Waugh, a spokesman for the state Department of Conservation and Recreation.

Other local recipients include:

The Nature Conservancy, an environmental group, which will use $20,000 to help plant a holly orchard along the Barrier Islands on the Eastern Shore. The greenery is designed to control erosion and curb runoff pollution.

The Eastern Shore Soil and Water Conservation District, which will get $62,000 to help farmers develop plans to curb nitrogen and phosphorus pollution from washing off their lands and into state waters.

Districts that serve Chesapeake, Virginia Beach and Suffolk and Isle of Wight, Southampton and Sussex counties will receive the rest of the money, also for better planning and nutrient controls.

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