
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: TUESDAY, March 5, 1991                   TAG: 9103050412
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: B-8   EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short

WATER BOARD TIGHTENS RIVER POLLUTION PERMITS

Although the Elizabeth River is cleaner than it was a decade ago, the state continues to crack down on the river's polluters.

The state Water Control Board is writing tougher pollution permits for eight shipyards and about a dozen smaller boat repair yards along the river, said Debra Trent, coordinator of the Elizabeth River Initiative, a state regulatory and research program.

For example, the board said it is seeking $280,000 in fines and immediate controls on copper discharges at Colonna's Shipyard Inc. in Norfolk.

A report by researchers at Old Dominion University indicates the river, among the nation's most polluted, has improved. The study said pollution controls have reduced concentrations of five hazardous metals and 12 chemical compounds throughout most of the river's muddy bottom.

But the report also linked runoff from streets, shipyards and marinas to higher doses of some pollutants.

It's those violaters state officials are now trying to target, Trent said.

- Associated Press

by CNB