Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, April 2, 1990 TAG: 9004020369
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A3 EDITION: EVENING
SOURCE: JOEL TURNER MUNICIPAL WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Kit Kiser, chairman of the city Flood Plain Committee, said today the corps has made some changes that were requested by the city, but "we've still got some more negotiating to do."
Mayor Noel Taylor and other city officials discussed the project with Warner during his recent visit to Roanoke.
Most of the unresolved issues in the so-called local cooperative agreement - a document that is required for the project to proceed - involve the city's liability.
The corps wants the city to assume most of the liability.
It wants the city to pay the cleanup costs for old disposal sites for hazardous waste that might be uncovered by the contractor when the river channel is widened.
City officials don't want to do that because they could potentially face large costs - hundreds of thousands or more - to clean up waste.
The corps also wants the city to assume responsibility for the project's design and damages that might result from its construction, operation and maintenance. City officials contend that the corps should assume liability for the design because it designed the project.
The proposed agreement would also require the city to repair and replace the project if it is damaged or destroyed by an act of nature. City officials said this could potentially represent a large financial risk.
The proposed agreement would also give the corps the final control over the construction contract and any change orders. But city officials said they need assurance that the project will be built in accordance with the approved plans so that promises made to city voters on environmental and aesthetic matters will be kept.
The city also wants the corps to require the contractor to have liability insurance that would protect the city and corps during construction.
Kiser said today the city is still awaiting a final copy of the agreement from the corps.
The city can't begin acquiring the land and easements that will be needed until the agreement with the corps has been signed.
City officials had hoped the agreement could have been signed by March 1, although construction won't begin until March 1991.
The plans for the project were revised earlier to avoid two sites where hazardous and toxic waste is thought to be buried: one site is near the old American Viscose plant in the Roanoke Industrial Center and the other is an old city landfill where Tinker Creek flows into the river.
In both cases, the plans have been changed so the riverbanks won't be graded in the areas where the dumps are located.
Four potential hazardous waste sites were identified: the old American Viscose plant, the Tinker Creek landfill, Roanoke Memorial Hospital and Appalachian Power Co.'s substation near Ninth Street Southeast.
After further investigation, the corps said, there doesn't appear to be any problems with the Apco and Roanoke Memorial sites because underground storage tanks for fuel that were in these areas were removed in 1986 and 1987.
The project involves widening the river channel and construction of flood walls at several places along the 10-mile stretch of the river within the city. It also includes a 4.6-mile bicycling and jogging trail.
The city's share of the $34.3 million cost for the project is $14.3 million. City voters approved a $7.5 million bond issue last year to help pay the city's share. The remaining $6.8 million will come from several sources: earlier appropriations, land donations and state recreation funds.
Keywords:
FLOOD CONTROL
by CNB