Former Charlottesville mayor Kay Slaughter resigned from her post on the State Water Control Board Thursday amid allegations of conflict of interest.
Slaughter, currently an environmental lawyer with the Southern Environmental Law Center, is involved in a dispute over the proposed construction of the King William Reservoir in Newport News, Va. The Center, a group created to protect the natural resources of the Southeastern United States, has filed suit to prevent the reservoir from being built, opposing plans created by the city of Newport News.
The issue of conflict of interest arose concerning a meeting between Slaughter and EPA officials. Slaughter agreed upon her appointment by Gov. Mark R. Warner in February that she would not be involved with issues pertaining to the State Water Control Board permit for the King William Reservoir, as her work with the Center included litigation to block the permit. Thus, the meeting was put in question as to whether it violated her agreement.
In a letter to Warner, Slaughter maintained that she fulfilled her duties in an ethical manner.
"I want to assure you that the meeting was related only to EPA's interest in the Federal Section 404 permit and not any issue related to the State Water Control Board or its jurisdiction," Slaughter wrote.
Slaughter declined to comment for this article.
The proposed 1,500-acre King William reservoir would supply water to Newport News and the surrounding areas, but the necessity of the construction is in question. In September 2002, the North Atlantic Division of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers renewed the application for a permit to build the reservoir, overriding the Norfolk District of the Corps.
One point of contention is the difference in estimated water need by the year 2040, which the city predicts to be 39 million gallons, as opposed to the 17 million gallons estimated by the Corps' Norfolk District.
The main debate over the reservoir, however, stems from environmental protection concerns.
According to Cathryn McCue, a spokesperson for the Center, the environmental effects of a proposed reservoir are devastating.
"It's an extremely complicated issue," McCue said. "Basically, this reservoir is the wrong project in the wrong place at the wrong time. It would destroy a lot of wetlands, impede the flow of water, threaten shad fisheries and have an effect on Native Americans living in the basin."
McCue also noted that there is no need for a reservoir in the first place.
"There are many alternatives to the reservoir that the city could implement," McCue said. "Studies have shown that the city of Newport News has overestimated water needs by a great deal."
Randy Hildebrandt, assistant city manager of Newport News, disagreed with the view that the reservoir is not a necessity.
"This is part of our plan through 2050 to meet the Peninsula's water needs," Hildebrandt said. "We have also pursued a groundwater desalinization project and water conservation -- this is part of solving long-term water problems."
Hildebrandt also contested the Center's position drawn from studies of the basin area.
"A couple of the studies were actually paid for by the Sierra Club, who has long opposed the project," Hildebrandt said. "The State Health Department, State Water Control Board and the Army Corps of Engineers have stated that water is going to be needed in the time frame that we are proposing. There is sufficient information on behalf of the project."
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