Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, May 23, 1994 TAG: 9405230160
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DAVID M. POOLE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Medium
The issue is a reminder that Goode's work on behalf of his rural district, which stretches along the Blue Ridge south of Roanoke, often puts him at odds with the state's suburban corridor.
Goode, a Democrat running against U.S. Sen. Charles Robb and two other opponents in the June 14 primary, said he discussed the pipeline with Virginia Beach and upstream counties.
"There might be a solution that would be acceptable to both sides,'' Goode said in an interview. "If not, my record is clear.''
A U.S. Commerce Department decision on Thursday clearing the way for the pipeline, subject to an environmental review, comes at a bad time for Goode, who is trying to expand on his rural base of support in the primary.
While Robb and Republican U.S. Sen. John Warner have supported Virginia Beach in its efforts to shore up its water supply, Goode has been working against the project.
"I am very much opposed to the Lake Gaston pipeline,'' he said in a letter to a Smith Mountain Lake resident last fall.
In the Virginia Senate, Goode voted against a bill that would have assured Virginia Beach priority during low-flow periods in the Roanoke River. Last fall, he urged the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to require a full environmental impact statement of Lake Gaston, a move that would delay the project several years.
Goode's other opponents in the primary - Richmond lawyer Sylvia Clute and Lyndon LaRouche supporter Nancy Spannaus - both favor the pipeline as a short-term solution to a problem that they say needs more attention.
Keywords:
POLITICS
by CNB