THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, June 7, 1996 TAG: 9606070568
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: D1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY SCOTT HARPER, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: 75 lines
TBT, a highly toxic boat paint used at major shipyards in Hampton Roads, is at the heart of a new dispute between Virginia and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
In a certified letter sent Wednesday to EPA Administrator Carol M. Browner, state Attorney General James S. Gilmore III threatened to sue the federal agency for not regulating TBT as mandated by Congress.
TBT, or tributyltin, keeps barnacles from fouling ship hulls. But even in trace amounts, the tin-based substance can kill or deform small marine life. One study at Old Dominion University showed that baby fish did not develop tails when exposed to levels similar to those in the shipyard-lined Elizabeth River.
In 1988, Congress instructed the EPA to develop a national pollution standard for TBT that would apply equally to shipyards across the country. The agency has yet to do so, however, saying it needs more time.
Gilmore argued that without a national standard, shipyards in Hampton Roads are at a competitive disadvantage because they must abide by a rigid state environmental rule that, detractors say, makes it almost impossible to spray TBT onto a ship and still comply with the law.
At Newport News Shipbuilding, for example, the state requires that TBT residues not exceed 50 parts per trillion in the water. But engineers at the giant Peninsula yard say that, even with their best technology, they can only hope to keep TBT levels at 150 parts per trillion.
Other than break the law, the only alternative is not to use TBT at all. In that case, Gilmore and maritime experts argued, most shipping lines that prefer TBT to other paints will take their business to states where rules are less stringent.
Of 25 coastal states, six have TBT regulations - California, Hawaii, Maryland, New York, North Carolina and Texas - according to a survey conducted by the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality. But only Virginia includes specific TBT limits in state water-pollution permits that shipyards must obtain, the survey found.
``It's unacceptable for Virginia's workers and their families to pay the price for Virginia's leadership in protecting our fragile marine ecosystems, while others continue to pollute with impunity,'' Gilmore wrote. ``I am demanding that EPA follow the rules and give us a national standard for TBT based on sound science.''
Despite repeated efforts Thursday, EPA officials in Washington could not be reached for comment.
However, in a response to a complaint filed last year by Virginia's congressional leaders, the EPA said it had developed ``draft effluent guidelines'' for TBT but was not ready to announce them.
Wednesday's action was the second time in as many months that Gilmore has threatened to sue the EPA for not doing its job.
In early May, Gilmore said he may intervene in a federal lawsuit challenging a plan to upgrade the huge Blue Plains sewage plant in Washington, D.C. Gilmore claimed the plans were too weak and would allow pollution to flow into the Potomac River and Chesapeake Bay.
Some environmentalists questioned Gilmore's motives, noting his all-but-announced Republican candidacy for governor in 1997 and suggesting he wants to show voters his concern for environmental issues.
These critics also pointed out that Gilmore twice sued the EPA on behalf of Gov. George F. Allen for being too zealous in its drive for cleaner air and water.
Mark Miner, a spokesman for Gilmore, dismissed the notion that the attorney general's TBT challenge is motivated by politics.
``That's not the case,'' Miner said. ``This is about the EPA not doing what Congress told them to do . . . and about how that's unfairly putting a burden on our shipyards and the environment.''
In his letter, Gilmore said the EPA must act within 60 days or be subject to a lawsuit. ILLUSTRATION: Color photo [State Attorney General James S. Gilmore
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KEYWORDS: LAWSUIT TBT TOXIC PAINT EPA by CNB