Officials press for full review of N.C. landfill
By ROBERT MCCABE, The Virginian-Pilot
© June 29, 2005
Last updated: 11:54 PM
CHESAPEAKE — City officials said they will ask U.S. Rep. J. Randy Forbes to go to bat for them again in their efforts to get a full public review of a proposed 490-acre landfill just across the state line in Camden County, N.C.
They plan to ask Forbes to go to the top of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in an effort to determine whether a federal "environmental impact statement," or EIS, will be required before the landfill project, planned by Black Bear Disposal LLC, can move forward.
City officials have said their biggest concern about the landfill is possible contamination of the Northwest River Watershed, which straddles Virginia and North Carolina. The river supplies drinking water to more than 60 percent of the city. Last week, the City Council approved emergency measures creating the Northwest River Watershed Protection District, intended to preserve the environmental integrity of the Chesapeake portion of the watershed.
The council also provided $400,000 to pay for the "implementation of comprehensive protection initiatives."
The money will be used to buy land for conservation as well as for planning, engineering and legal services, according to city documents.
Early last month, Forbes wrote to the EPA's Region 3 headquarters in Philadelphia, asking for help in getting a determination on the matter.
In a June 23 letter, Donald S. Welsh, regional administrator for the EPA's Region 3, told Forbes that the North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources would issue permits for the project.
Welsh also told Forbes that because the proposed site is in North Carolina, it falls under the jurisdiction of the EPA's Region 4, based in Atlanta. Virginia is in Region 3.
"The letter wasn't a big surprise," said Mary Ann Saunders, assistant to the city manager. "The project is in one EPA region and the impacts are in another."
The city plans to ask Forbes to intervene again, in an attempt to resolve the matter.
Chesapeake is also asking Sens. John Warner and George Allen for help, Saunders said.
Welsh's letter to Forbes seemed to question whether an environmental impact statement was called for.
Under the National Environmental Policy Act, an environmental impact statement "is required for major federal actions significantly affecting the quality of the human environment," Welsh wrote.
"Major federal actions are defined as activities, projects and programs entirely or partly financed, assisted, conducted, regulated or approved by federal agencies," Welsh stated. He added that each federal agency "independently determines" which of its National Environmental Policy Act applicable actions may trigger the need for an environmental impact statement.
"What they're looking for is some kind of federal agency to step up," Saunders said. "Protecting drinking water should obviously be a federal concern."
Forbes could not be reached for comment late Tuesday afternoon.
Reach Robert McCabe at (757) 222-5217 or robert.mccabe@pilotonline.com.
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