Would you want these kinds of benefits?

Late last week, after resolving a lawsuit by environmental and public health organizations, EPA officials announced that they have set a deadline for developing standards to limit mercury and other toxins emitted from coal-fired power plants by Nov. 16, 2011. According to the EPA, coal-fired plants in this country emit nearly 50 tons of mercury each year, or about a third of the nation’s total mercury emissions. Initially when the suit was filed last year, only 28% of coal plants used scrubbers for pollution controls. However, these scrubbers are creating another environmental problem: contaminated drinking water. According to an article in the New York Times, one of the biggest threats to our waterways is coal-fired power plants. Yet there are no federal regulations on the proper disposal of toxins from coal plants into waterways or landfills. The EPA announced earlier this week it will begin looking into the contamination effects of fly-ash, a coal by-product created when coal is burned.

In a report released by the Chesapeake Bay Foundation earlier this month, mercury emissions from the Old Dominion Electric Cooperative’s (ODEC) proposed coal-fired power plant for the Hampton Roads region in Surry County would further damage waterways leading into the Chesapeake Bay where state advisories are already posted due to the high levels of mercury contamination.

All of this comes on the heels of a report by the National Academy of Sciences stating that the annual cost of health issues related to emissions from coal-fired power plants was about $60 billion in the United States.

Surry County and the rest of the Chesapeake Bay community don’t need these kinds of “benefits”. Join us in saying NO to this plant.

Dendron, Va. chooses its own future.

Dendron, Virginia, has more than its share of challenges. The community of around 300, located in the southern corner of Surry County, struggles with an outdated municipal water system, crumbling sidewalks and no major businesses within the town.

Prior to the Great Depression, Dendron had been a company town of more than 3,000, fueled by the lumber industry’s presence there. Private business thrived in a town that revolved around the processing and export of timber across the country. Despite its character as an industrial one-trick-pony, the town of Dendron had something to stand for, and an industry to be proud of.

Today’s Dendron little resembles that historic vision of the 1900’s boomtown. Largely forgotten by the industry that once supported a thriving community, and facing serious municipal and community problems, such as an unexpected $10,000 water bill, you’d think the small town would take anything at this point to give it an economic boost.

The Old Dominion Electric Cooperative assumed this to be true when executives within the cooperative approached Dendronites with a plan for a new 1,500-megawatt coal-fired power plant, the second largest of its kind in Virginia. ODEC presented the Cypress Creek project with the promise of new jobs, tax revenue, and the idea that one major industry would bring others to the cash-strapped community. Despite local environmental effects and immediate hazards to human health, ODEC worked to assure Dendron residents that they stood to benefit from such a plant’s construction. ODEC also assumed that they’d buy into it without any major hiccups.

The cooperative, which has endlessly dispelled misinformation concerning the proposed plant (see “Hope for Surry Shines through smog”, 3 June), encountered a major hiccup Monday evening. As the Dendron Town Council met for its third meeting to deliberate the adoption of an ordinance that would allow the coal-friendly county board of supervisors to assume the community’s zoning rights, tensions

Hope for Surry shines through the smog

STOP THE COAL PLANT!

Surry, Virginia, is about as picturesque as they come. A portrait of the rural south, Surry and its neighbor, Dendron, offer testament to the unique charm and unavoidable beauty that accompanies the idea of small-town America. Wary of outsiders and exceptionally warm toward neighbors and friends, the residents of Surry County understand the inherent splendor of a life that is unhindered by external influence. Naturally, it comes as no surprise that Old Dominion Electric Cooperative’s proposed dirty, unhealthy, coal-fired power plant has been received with very few open arms in the community. Of course, this has not dampened the large cooperative’s desire to take advantage of a small town with its share of economic difficulties. With the promise of new jobs and increased tax revenue, ODEC has repeatedly stressed the so-called benefits to be won from the massive plant’s construction. On Monday evening, Dendron’s town council brought these claims to task during their regular meeting. Dendronites are engaged in a fight against the health of their community, their children, and the irreplaceable beauty of the surrounding environment.

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Is a Coal Plant in Surry County a Bad Idea? CCAN Asks Terry McAuliffe

terry_rallyThis morning the Chesapeake Climate Action Network successfully caught the attention of Virginia gubernatorial candidate Terry McAuliffe at a rally he hosted at the 17th Street Farmer’s Market in Richmond, Virginia. Richmond Town Councilman Marty Jewel kicked off the morning, and former President Bill Clinton introduced Mr. McAuliffe. The theme of the rally was “New Energy for New Jobs,” and the candidate’s speech centered repowering the commonwealth and creating new jobs for Virginians. CCAN wanted to ask Mr. McAuliffe about his position on a recently proposed coal fired power plant for Surry County, a Hampton Roads community. Well, we got his attention!

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One Tiny Step Forward, Two Giant Steps Back

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Yesterday Gov. Kaine applauded Virginia’s electrical co-ops for donating energy efficient lights to Virginia State Parks, hailing it as “a major step forward” for Virginia.

It’s great that Virginia is taking strides to be more energy efficient. Considering Virginia spent just $84,000 statewide on efficiency measures in 2006, compared with $400,000 in Alabama and Mississippi and $3.8 billion in North Carolina, we certainly need to be stepping up our commitment to efficiency.

It’s also great that this is a “major step.” What exactly does that mean? Continue reading

Got $6 billion? Another new coal plant proposed for VA

On Tuesday, good ol’ king coal proposed another new coal plant for Virginia, but this time it’s going to be over 3 times as expensive and in Richmond’s back yard. Old Dominion Electric Cooperative says it will cost $6 billion to build the plant, which is necessary “to meet energy demand that the cooperative projects will double in the next two decades.”

Of course this is outrageous. Despite the climate crisis, and the fact that 72% of Virginians believe that immediate action is needed to address global warming, the coal barons of Virginia are still trying to sneak through midnight coal plants.

It’s ironic that this announcement has come on the heals of Governor Kaine’s Climate Commission report. The report calls on the state to reduce its total carbon emissions 80% by 2050. Despite this goal, based on the findings of climate scientists around the world, the Wise and Surry County plants would result in millions of tons of additional greenhouse gas pollution undermining efforts to actually reduce emissions.

Says Glen Besa in a press release by CCAN and our allies in our fight against the Wise County plant: “Utilities in Virginia seem to be in denial about global warming.”

The Surry site is about 60 miles from Richmond and 40 from Virginia beach. Local pollution of methane, sulfur and NOX can be expected to increase, as will mountain top removal mining in Appalachia.

The ACEEE report recently released in VA shows clearly how Virginia can eliminate the need for any new coal plants through efficiency alone. By enacting strong policies that set strong targets, reduce peak demand and incentivize efficiency, Virginia can hold energy use steady and start investing in clean energy like wind and solar. It’s time that our leaders start investing in what Virginia really needs, not another new coal plant.