DATE: Sunday, June 1, 1997                  TAG: 9706010129

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B9   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS 

DATELINE: RICHMOND                          LENGTH:   35 lines

BEYER LAYS OUT HIS ENVIRONMENTAL PLAN

Virginia should do a better job of monitoring polluters, Lt. Gov. Donald S. Beyer Jr., the Democratic candidate for governor, said as he outlined a six-point plan for the environment Saturday.

``When the state does not enforce the law, then polluters have a competitive advantage over companies that obey the law,'' he told the York chapter of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation. ``It costs taxpayers money when the state is lax in enforcing the law, because the state has to pick up the tab to clean up the mess.''

Calling himself a business owner and an outdoorsman, Beyer said Virginia's record of environmental protection under Republican Gov. George Allen was ``mediocre.''

``There has been lax enforcement of conservation laws,'' Beyer said.

His plan calls for:

Taking the politics out of environmental protection.

Improving water quality by better managing the rivers that flow into the Chesapeake.

Improving enforcement of environmental regulations.

Helping companies comply with existing laws.

Setting clear goals with the help of the public.

Education on the need to preserve the environment.

Beyer's environmental credentials were attacked by Mark Miner, spokesman for the Republican gubernatorial candidate, Attorney General James S. Gilmore III.

``The truth of the matter is that Jim Gilmore has real accomplishments when it comes to environmental enforcement,'' Miner said.

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