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

DATE: THURSDAY, March 31, 1994                   TAG: 9403310114
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C-4   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE: RICHMOND                                LENGTH: Short

GROUP OPPOSES FUND CUTS

Budget cuts approved by the General Assembly would slow the cleanup of hazardous-waste sites and allow water pollution to go undetected, a lawyer for an environmental group says.

But state officials say the cuts would not significantly affect environmental protection.

Responding to former Gov. Douglas Wilder's call to reduce spending, the Department of Environmental Quality recommended ending Virginia's role in running the Superfund cleanup program.

The department also recommended eliminating $350,000 a year for a program in which scientists check streams for fish and other organisms to determine the water's safety.

The cuts are reflected in the budget that is awaiting action by Gov. George Allen.

David Bailey, an attorney with the Environmental Defense Fund, said Superfund cleanups in Virginia will be slower because there will be no local officials to push the process forward.

But state officials said Virginia really had little say in the program because EPA controlled it. Legislators felt "the state was not getting a measurable benefit" for the money spent, Menkes said.

- Associated Press

by CNB