Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, March 9, 1994 TAG: 9403090089
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: CATHRYN McCUE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
The Alleghany County man played a farmer and trapper in "Sommersby," and he recently portrayed a judge in a TV movie.
But when it comes to doing battle with Westvaco, the giant paper mill that's been Covington's bread and butter for a century, Whitlock ain't acting.
"We're not against Westvaco. We appreciate their economic impact into the area up here. . . . But when it comes to the safety of their operations . . . we think they should act responsibly."
Whitlock spearheads a group of citizens, called Headwaters Watch Committee, who oppose the company's proposal to close 1.7 miles of the Jackson River to the public.
Westvaco has applied to the Army Corps of Engineers for permission to establish a restricted zone along that stretch, bounded by company property on both sides. The mill says that two dams, a low-water bridge and many chemical lines over the river pose a safety hazard.
Further, steep banks on either side would make rescue of boaters "nearly impossible in the event of a serious hazardous material incident," the company said.
Whitlock contends that Westvaco wants to shield the public from environmental misdeeds at the plant.
A public hearing is scheduled for tonight at the armory at Dabney Lancaster Community College at 7 p.m.
The public comment period has been extended to April 9 because of intense public interest, said Rick Henderson, a corps official who will conduct the hearing.
"This is going to be a difficult proposal," Henderson said. "No matter what decision we make, somebody's going to be unhappy."
Floaters and anglers use that section of the Jackson River a lot, Henderson said. Fishermen are after the trout and what's rumored to be trophy-sized smallmouth bass.
Last month, the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries wrote the corps objecting to Westvaco's proposal. The department said signs and other warnings are sufficient to caution river users.
The corps already has granted Westvaco permission to string a curtain of plastic tubes across the river that would hang down to the surface to further discourage boaters and anglers.
"It's an eyesore," Whitlock said of the curtain, which apparently has not been built. "I don't want to . . . fight through that to traverse down what is my property and your property and the property of every citizen."
Westvaco spokesman Bob Crockett said the company preferred to wait until the hearing to give specifics about the proposal.
"You'll get a 45-minute dog-and-pony show that will answer everybody's questions," he said.
In a faxed statement later, Crockett wrote: "Westvaco has always conducted itself as a responsible corporate citizen, and it is our intention to continue to protect the public and the environment."
Henderson said the corps will consider alternatives, such as raising the bridge, removing the dams or providing portage around that section.
"Short of closing Westvaco, I don't know of any other alternatives at this point," he said, adding that he hopes the public will come up with some at tonight's meeting.
If the corps approves the application, it will require Westvaco to provide portage around the closed section 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, Henderson said.
Yet Whitlock says there's more to this than just getting to the fish.
He's concerned this would set a precedent, and that Westvaco might grow and develop along the river and subsequently find it necessary to close other sections due to hazards it created, he said.
Even more worrisome, he said, is the possibility that Westvaco is dumping waste along the banks of the Jackson.
Whitlock met last week with officials of the Department of Environmental Quality's Roanoke regional air, water and waste management divisions. The officials told him Westvaco was in compliance with all of its environmental permits.
Whitlock passed around pictures he said were taken during canoe trips down the river over the past couple of years. Some showed smokestack emissions. Some showed pipes discharging water into the river. Some showed storage tanks and 55-gallon drums amid piles of debris. And some showed men in hardhats with video cameras filming the photographer in the canoe.
Whitlock said he's concerned that Westvaco would take advantage of restricted public access along the river to improperly dispose of wastes.
The state environmental officials said they could not tell for sure if the pictures revealed any violations of state laws.
The corps' Henderson said no formal environmental impact statement is required for the proposal but that the agency would look into Whitlock's allegations.
The corps restricts access on navigable waters only when the public is endangered, Henderson said.
If the corps approves Westvaco's request, a violator would be charged with a federal felony offense, he said.
by CNB