THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, May 25, 1995 TAG: 9505250475
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B7 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY KAREN WEINTRAUB, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 64 lines
While Virginia Beach and Norfolk officials continued to work toward a Lake Gaston compromise this week, two of the state's top political leaders accused each other of failing to add direction to the struggle.
House Speaker Thomas W. Moss Jr., D-Norfolk, sent a letter to Gov. George F. Allen on Tuesday, charging the Republican governor with abdicating his leadership responsibility. Allen responded Wednesday night with a letter blaming Moss for delaying any resolution to the Gaston dispute.
Allen asked Moss April 27 to appoint a 10-member House committee to review the proposed Lake Gaston settlement. Moss announced the formation of that panel in his Tuesday letter to the governor.
``Now that you have appointed a House of Delegates panel to address the issue,'' Allen wrote in response, ``representatives of my administration can commence to work in earnest with designated members in both houses.''
The legislatures of Virginia and North Carolina have until June 27 to approve the Lake Gaston settlement. It was was negotiated between Virginia Beach and North Carolina, the two parties in a federal lawsuit that led to the mediation.
Norfolk has withheld its support of the settlement because of a provision that would limit the number of places it can sell surplus water.
Virginia Beach has offered to pay Norfolk as much as $68 million over the next 30 years; Norfolk has asked for payments of as much as $495 million over the same period.
Without Norfolk's support, the measure stands little chance of winning the approval of the Virginia General Assembly.
The North Carolina General Assembly is in regular session now, but Allen would have to call a special session of the Virginia legislature. Allen has said he wants to be fairly confident the Assembly will support the settlement before he convenes the session.
Moss took issue with that position.
``I do not believe it is appropriate to bind members of the legislature to any vote, particularly as a precondition to calling a legislative session,'' he wrote.
Moss also said he doesn't think the settlement can be approved by the end of June, if at all.
``Governor, unless you intend to be more involved and provide more leadership than you have exhibited thus far, I am fearful that this process is ordained to fail,'' he concluded.
Moss appointed Franklin P. Hall, D-Richmond, chairman of the House Counties, Cities and Towns Committee, to lead the Gaston group.
Hall said his goal is to provide an opportunity for people on all sides of the Gaston issue to make their opinions publicly known.
``The bottom line is this agreement was negotiated by one local government and a sister state,'' Hall said Wednesday. ``We need to make sure that it's fair for all Virginia.''
Other committee members are: James F. Almand, D-Arlington; W.W. Bennett Jr., D-Halifax; Whittington W. Clement, D-Danville; Glenn R. Croshaw, D-Virginia Beach; Alan A. Diamonstein, D-Newport News; Richard L. Fisher, R-Vienna; Arthur R. Geisen Jr., R-Waynesboro; George H. Heilig Jr., D-Norfolk; and Harry J. Parrish, R-Manassas.
KEYWORDS: LAKE GASTON PIPELINE SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT by CNB