University of Virginia Library

Interior Department Criticizes
LEAA Green Springs Report

By PAT GRANEY

The U.S. Department of the
Interior has denounced the
Law Enforcement Assistance
Administration's (LEAA) draft
report approving the
construction of a prison site at
Green Springs in Louisa
County.

Interior Dept. Deputy Asst.
Sec. W.W. Lyons criticized
environmental impact
statement in a letter sent last
week to Thomas J. Madden,
asst. administrator, office of
general counsel for LEAA.

The letter, which included
the Interior Dept.'s evaluation
of the draft report cited "a
number of procedural and
substantive shortcomings."

"In view of the fact that
there appear to be other
alternative sites which meet all
of the requirements of the site
selection criteria and not
present significant
environmental conflicts there is
no discernible rationale which
justifies imposing the proposed
facility upon the Green Springs
historic scene," Mr. Lyons said.

The evaluation also
emphasized LEAA'S failure to
recognize the cultural and
historic value of the ares.

"It fails to analyze the
project impact upon the
continuity of the historical
community.. The statement
needs to examine the Green
Springs historic area as a
unique cultural landscape and
consider whether...placing a
non-historic facility near the
focal point of the basin
landscape would involve
significant impact upon the
area's visual and cultural
integrity."

LEAA approval is necessary
before federal funds can be
used for the project. The
agency originally approved a
$775,000 grant for the facility,
but the U.S. Circuit Court of
Appeals blocked the funds
until further study was
conducted on the
environmental impact of the
prison.

"This department views the
Green Springs historical area as
a significant example of
historic, rural America
containing outstanding
architectural structures," Mr.
Lyons said. The setting "needs
protection from developments
which are inconsistent with the
historic character of the area."

"The general tone of the
statement is one of economic
justification and expedience
for the selection of the facility
site. The advocative passages of
the draft severely impair its
ability to convey an accurate
assessment of the
environmental effects of the
proposal," he added.

Mrs. Hiram B. Ely.
spokesman for the Greer.
Springs Association, said, "The
Department of the Interior
report confirms exactly what
the Green Springs Association
has been saying to the
administration in Virginia for
two and a half years. We
suspect that this is only the
first of a number of major
federal agencies which will
strongly oppose the funding of
such a project in Green
Springs."