 |
Council Sends Letter Regarding Proposed Coal PlantSaturday, November 27, 2010 Though not yet ready to form an opinion on the plan, Williamsburg’s city council sent out a letter last week to two regulating agencies stating the city will be closely monitoring plans for a new coal-fired power plant to be built 20 miles away in Surry. Old Dominion Electric Cooperative received approvals earlier in the year from the town of Dendron, the Surry County Board of Supervisors and the Sussex County Board of Supervisors to build the largest coal-fired power plant in the state. The company finalized the purchase of 1,600 acres in July this year, and has so far spent $20 million on the planned 1,500-megawatt power plant (though it recently announced a building delay of between 18 and 24 months).Local and state environmental groups have been working to keep the plant from being built due to high mercury emissions and its effects on health and water and air quality, and some Dendron residents are suing to keep the plant out of town. Though Williamsburg city council has set up a plan to hold public hearings in the near future to get residents’ thoughts on the matter, concerned locals have been urging council to make a statement on the issue right away. Last week, the city sent letters to the Department of Environmental Quality and the Army Corps of Engineers, both of which have a hand in approving various stages of the coal plant’s building process. “The City of Williamsburg wishes to let it be known that it intends to monitor the application review process” of the proposed power plant, the letter states. “Should the facility be constructed, the operation of the largest coal-fired power plant in the Commonwealth will impact the natural environment in the City and surrounding communities.” Mayor Clyde Haulman stressed to WYDaily the city council hasn’t yet reached a conclusion on the matter, but the city did want to let the two agencies know that “we’re aware and involved.” The letter says the city aims to understand and comment on “how the proposed facility will impact the air and water quality in the Williamsburg area… we are specifically concerned about emissions of fine particulate matter, nitrogen oxide, sulfur dioxide, carbon dioxide and mercury. “We are also concerned about increased ozone levels, which could worsen the region’s air quality attainment. “The emissions could affect the health of our citizens, could impact our many historic buildings, and could make it more difficult for new industries to move into the Hampton Roads are, as well as less inviting for visitors. “Tourism is, and will remain, an essential part of the Williamsburg economy.” The city will also study the energy policy issues surrounding electricity generated from coal, the letter states, and it expects the two agencies to conduct their reviews in a “timely and rigorous manner.” The public hearing schedule hasn’t yet been set, but once it is complete council will decide on their position regarding the power station, Haulman said. The City plans to submit comments during the official comment period once the Army Corps finishes its Environmental Impact Statement, and the city will submit its thoughts to the DEQ before it finishes its review of ODEC’s application. State Sen. Norment, State del. Bill Barlow and state Secretary of Natural Resources Doug Domenech were copied on the letter.
|
|
Copyright © 2010-2011 WY Daily. Davis Media, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Website by Web-tactics
Website by Web-tactics
Comments
The new Virginia Energy Plan of 2010, endorsed by Gov. McDonell, states that Virginia has at least 3000 megawatts of offshore wind capacity at 12 miles off the coast where they will be a tiny blip on the horizon. Delaware and Maryland are moving ahead--we should also.
Yes, Virginia, there are other possibilities for energy--don't let the fossil fuel boys make you think they have the only game in town.
Dear "Confused",
Yes, Bentg's post is tongue in cheek.
To John, moderate levels of efficiency alone, not even including conservation, would eliminate the need for over 6000 MW or the equivalent of 4 Surry coal plants. Virginia has 44,000 MW of untapped renewable energy potential.
The U.S. Navy in Hampton Roads has set a goal of producing 50% of its energy from renewable sources by 2020.
So no one needs to worry about sitting in the cold or the dark. I have no desire to live in the 18th century and thankfully, if we are thoughtful and careful about how to provide for our future energy needs, no one will have to.
We do need to worry about heart attacks, strokes, asthma and cancer if we breathe in fine particulate pollution, even at the emission levels from this "state of the art" facility.
Why would you want to pollute where you live?
Are you joking Bentg? You must be, if you do any research on Fly Ash, you will find it is nasty stuff.
Please enlighten me to the benfits of heavy metal contamination.
I have a 5 year old son, how would his health benefit?
Thank you
We need to stop the crap from the communist and socialist in the environmental movement. Let them live with their imaginary windmills and solar panels.
Put me incharge and I'll fix the problem. No PC or BS here. John
pw
The Germans have very sophisticated incinerators that use plasma to completely and cleanly destroy almost any kind of waste, all while producing local electricity.
Folks, we are downwind of this plant.
How about the people outside DC and in MD and DE, who are slated to benefit from this coal plant, figure out an alternative. If they don't want it in their backyards for THEIR electricity needs, then figuring out an alternative should be up to them. This area has coal plants and a nuclear power plant (and the accompanying 2 million pounds of radioactive waste, according to a recent article in the Daily Press).