THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, October 26, 1994 TAG: 9410260443
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY MASON PETERS, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 61 lines
A group that opposes Virginia Beach's plan to tap 60 million gallons of water a day from Lake Gaston has fired an unusual volley in the long-running border dispute.
The Roanoke River Basin Association, based in Danville, has asked North Carolina Gov. James B. Hunt Jr. to consider seizing through condemnation the lake's extensive shoreline in his state.
Lake Gaston's bottom and shores are owned by Virginia Power, which operates a hydroelectric plant at the Roanoke River impoundment.
Virginia Beach is seeking to condemn a small piece of the utility's land in Brunswick County, Va., so it can put in the pipeline.
The request is aimed at bypassing the jurisdiction of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, an agency that oversees hydroelectric plants and that has tied up the pipeline project while it conducts an environmental impact study.
A hearing on Virginia Beach's condemnation request is scheduled for today, before the State Corporation Commission in Richmond. The city will attempt to convince a panel of commissioners that the 4-acre parcel is crucial to serving the public need for water in Virginia Beach and not essential for the utility's operation.
The Roanoke River Basin Association urged Hunt to be prepared in case Virginia grants the condemnation rights and federal courts allow them.
Should that happen, president W. Ewell Barr wrote on Monday, ``the action we propose that North Carolina take is necessary to protect the interests of the individuals, businesses, fishing concerns and farming operations in the North Carolina portion of the Roanoke River basin.''
On Tuesday, a spokesman for Hunt said the governor had not yet seen Barr's letter. Attorneys for the North Carolina Department of Justice, who have led the state's fight against the pipeline, had reviewed it.
``We doubt if the letter has merit,'' one said.
Hunt has publicly opposed the $142 million aqueduct.
Recent developments in North Carolina, however, suggest that Hunt may be more conciliatory toward the Lake Gaston plan as the 1996 general elections approach. Hunt is expected to run for re-election.
One of Hunt's close friends is state Sen. Marc Basnight, D-Dare, president pro tem of the North Carolina Senate. Basnight startled colleagues in the spring with a proposal that Virginia and North Carolina could resolve the pipeline dispute ``as good neighbors.''
Preliminary talks were held during the summer between Basnight and Virginia legislators at a national convention of state and county officials in Norfolk.
Basnight's trial balloon found some favor in both states, particularly in border counties that would be most affected by the pipeline.
With more northeastern North Carolina counties facing water shortages due to population growth, Basnight's proposal reflected the view that Virginia Beach isn't the only area that must soon find more drinking water.
KEYWORDS: WATER SUPPLY PLAN LAKE GASTON PIPELINE by CNB