THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, April 23, 1995 TAG: 9504210213
SECTION: PORTSMOUTH CURRENTS PAGE: 06 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Editorial
LENGTH: Short : 34 lines
A PLAN to clean up the Abex Superfund site near Washington Park apparently would not be affected by efforts in the Congress to gut this country's environmental protection systems.
Susan Taylor Hansen of Portsmouth, an environmental lawyer who has worked with the city on the plan for the Abex cleanup, said she believes the bill now before the Senate would not cause the agreement to be junked. However, Portsmouth cannot be too careful about the fine points of the legislation and must monitor closely what is happening in Washington.
The final plan for the Abex site has been a long time coming and the process has created many hard feelings among the residents of the area around the site. We need to get beyond the heartache and alienation that has been fostered by the slow pace of the cleanup plans. Certainly, we don't need to start over.
Although it is of primary concern to this city, the Abex site is but one environmental problem in this region.
Citizens here would be prudent to get assurances that not only will the Abex cleanup proceed, but they also would be smart to urge Sens. John Warner and Charles Robb to oppose any legislation that would remove the environmental checks and balances already in place. by CNB