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Old Dominion Electric Cooperative wants to build the largest coal plant in Virginia in the Hampton Roads region. On Monday, Nov. 23rd, the Surry County Planning Commission is holding a public hearing on whether to grant local zoning approval for this controversial plant and allow ODEC to amend the Comprehensive Plans of Surry County and the Town of Dendron. This is a crucial time to speak out against this monstrosity of a coal plant and to maintain control of the direction of our communities!
The proposed plant, located only a few miles from one of the Commonwealth's greatest treasures, the Chesapeake Bay, would poison surrounding waterways with 116 pounds of mercury per year. The plant would create nearly 60 tons of poisonous coal ash a day, to be stored in Surry County, and would increase the demand for coal extracted using mountaintop removal mining. In addition, it would add nearly 15 million tons of global warming pollution to our air every year.
Please plan to attend this critical meeting on Monday, Nov. 23 starting at 7:00pm at the Surry County Government Center, 45 School St. in Surry, VA. Visit the Wise Energy for Virginia site for more information.
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 The community of around 300, located in the southern corner of Surry County, struggles with an outdated municipal water system, crumbling sidewalks and no major businesses within the town.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.
Marsh Fork Elementary School in Sundial, West VA might be the most tragic and symbolic site of American children left behind by their state government.
Forsaken by state officials and a recent WV Supreme Court decision last week, the school and its children must play amid the toxic dust of a coal silo-and soon a second one-that sits less than a football field away.
The Marsh Fork Elementary School also sits only a few football fields downslope of a 2.8 billion gallon earthen coal sludge impoundment, where Massey Energy is setting off thousands of pounds of explosives near the dam.
Every school kid in the coalfields knows Massey's reckless history with coal sludge dams.
In a haunting parallel to last December's TVA coal ash disaster, a Massey subsidiary in eastern Kentucky was responsible for the largest coal slurry spill at that point, leaking over 300 million gallons of toxic sludge into the area's waterways and aquifers.
With blasting nearby, if the 380 foot earthen dam above the Marsh Fork school broke, the children and community residents would have less than three minutes to flee.
Based in Richmond, Virginia, Massey Energy has demonstrated a merciless coveting for coal at any expense. At the 2008 4th quarter earnings call, the out-of-state company's president crowed that 2008 was the "most successful" in Massey's history, and their "very aggressive expansion plan" was executed "almost to perfection." The Virginia-based president was "especially pleased" that Massey reached an "all time record high" of $641 million in adjusted annual EBITDA.
Now laying off workers due to market demands, with 19 union-busted Appalachian mining operations valued at $2.6 billion in 2008, the Richmond company shelled out $20 million in penalties for dumping toxic mine waste into the region's waterways in 2008; Massey also paid a record $4.2 million for civil and criminal fines in the death of two coal miners in West Virginia last year.
Now let's contrast this to statements made by Old Dominion Electric Cooperative officials in regards to their proposed $6 billion Surry coal plant located 18 miles from historic Williamsburg...
I just got a livid email from a resident of Dendron, VA---the small town of 300 where the Surry Coal Plant is proposed. The ODEC plant would be nearly 3 times the size of the Wise plant...at 1500MW. Pollutants include 14.6 million tons of carbon dioxide per year and over 100 pounds of the neurotoxin mercury among others.
Residents of the town are fighting back...and ODEC is responding. Just because its a Cooperative however, doesn't mean they aren't willing to fight dirty. An article came out in the Smithfield Times, followed by a secret meeting sponsored by ODEC...both were filled with bold lies about the plant.
Here is one resident's response...lets support these people on the frontlines of this battle with dirty coal.
Dear friends and neighbors,
I just wanted to take a moment of your time to direct your attention to the outrageous statement that ODEC has recently told our community:
"The only thing that comes out of the top of the coal plant is water vapor."
- Jeb Hockman, ODEC spokesman, Smithfield Times, May 13, 2009
I have spoken directly with the VA DEQ gentleman who was also quoted in that article and he assured me that Mr. Hockman is 100% mistaken.
I am completely outraged if this is the sort of underhanded tactic that these people are going to use to try to influence people here.
I have already written a letter to the Smithfield Times, but I think it is imperative that we all know that this complete misrepresentation is out there now. Even with retractions and clarifications, many will have read this article and come away with a very distorted view of the realities that a coal plant brings. There's a reason why ODEC had to submit 25 pages of emissions information to the DEQ......and it had very little to do with water vapor!
Another new coal plant is being planned in Surry County, Virginia, which would spew 15 million tons of global warming pollution-the equivalent of adding three million new cars to our roads per year. Because of the extreme threat of global warming to Virginias coasts, ecosystems and economy, the Chesapeake Climate Action Network is working to stop the new coal plant and move Virginia toward a green economy. Join us at WiseEnergyForVirginia.org.
Click here to send a message to the CEO of ODEC. No new coal plants in Virginia!
(Here's a good update on the Surry coal plant from Kayti Wingfield, our Wise Energy for Virginia Coalition Coordinator. Thanks, Kayti! - promoted by Eileen)
I attended the ODEC informational hearing on Wednesday as did many locals who don't necessarily need my convincing that the coal plant is a bad idea. They already know!
Over a hundred people showed up in Dendron at the Community Center at 5:00 PM. The crowd cleared out around 6:30 before the presentation began at 7:00 by ODEC's, David Smith, and we were left with around 50-60 people. Some of us have seen this presentation or heard this ridiculous explanation before --- it was the "everyone has a laptop now, everyone has a Wii, we have 3 TV's in our homes, therefore we need new generation."
After the presentation, an ODEC representative read questions from the crowd submitted earlier in the evening and allowed follow-ups from the person who asked the question. David Smith choked on a couple of questions. (Actually on one question he literally did start choking and had to defer to someone else to answer.) There were some really tough questions and the crowd took note. The questions will be posted at the "Cypress Creek" website cypresscreekpowerstation.com. All in all, the crowd was with us and both ODEC and DEQ fumbled on a lot of questions.
Disturbing Numbers Discovered at the Presentation:
14.6 million tons of CO2 per year
2,000 pounds of fly ash per hour
118 pounds of mercury per year
I have been meeting with the 11 member cooperatives CEO's and Chairpersons that make up ODEC. My sense is that ODEC's executives are telling these cooperatives that this plant is absolutely necessary and is the only way. The Energy Institute of America indicates that growth rates have dropped to 1% from 3% because of the economic recession. ODEC needs to reevaluate their growth numbers they use to necessitate this plant. My assessment on the cooperatives energy efficiency programs: THEY HAVE SO MUCH POTENTIAL because they barely have any and the ones they have are not effective.
We are 32nd in the Nation when it comes to energy efficiency according to the American Council for an Energy Efficiency Economy's 2008 state report (Click here to view.)We have potential for successful energy efficiency programs here in Virginia.
We have to tap into this massive load of unused power generation. We are able to create these programs and make them work and push off the need for this plant for at least 15 years. After 15 years will we need new generation? Maybe. But by then we WILL have the technology that is cleaner and hopefully greener that will save our mountains and protect our waters, air and the health of the citizens. I am not prepared to just accept a 1,500 MW plant that will spew CO2 and destroy mountains because ODEC is trying to sneak in a dirty coal plant fast before that technology is no longer a viable option.
Also, please note that ODEC President Jack Reasor used to be a Southwest State Representative, hmm... coal friend?
We have to change our ways and the time is now. Please stand in solidarity with thousands across the state in demanding a clean energy future for Virginia. And please write LTE's to your local papers and to spread the word to neighbors and friends. Go to the Wise Energy for Virginia website to more info on emailing ODEC. But mostly importantly, stay tuned and involved! More info will be coming out next week.
The Reality campaign just released this great new ad, which is directed by Academy-award winners Joel and Ethan Coen.
"Air Freshener" is just what our families in Hampton Roads need. The 1.7 million Hampton Roads residents will be affected by the proposed Old Dominion Electric Cooperative coal plant in Dendron (Surry County) Virginia. Williamsburg is 18 miles from Dendron, Newport News, Suffolk and Petersburg are 28 miles from Dendron and Norfolk is 30 miles from Dendron. All cities are within the 30 mile radius cited by health experts as the zone of concern surrounding coal fired power plants. This would also put Williamsburg within a 30 mile radius of yet another second coal plant, and it is currently 47 miles from a third plant in Chesterfield.
Please turn out for the ODEC's Public Information Meeting tonight on the Surry Coal Plant, 6:30-8:30 PM, L.P. Jackson Middle School, 4255 New Design Rd., Dendron, VA. For more info, contact David Smith (ODEC), 804-968-4045.
Where ever you live in Virginia, you may be able to help us stop the Surry County coal plant.
Whoever pays the electric bill in your house knows the answer to this question. Who is your utility?
Depending on where you live in Virginia you may be a customer of one of the nine Electric Coops in Virginia that collectively want to build a new coal plant in Surry County. Please let us know if you are customer of any of the following Electric Coops. E-mail stopsurrycoalplant@gmail.com, letting us know who you are and which Coop you belong to.
BARC Electric Cooperative:
• Serving Bath, Alleghany and Rockbridge Counties
Shenandoah Valley Electric Cooperative:
• Serving Augusta, Rockingham, and Shenandoah Counties
Rappahannock Electric Cooperative:
• Serving Albemarle, Caroline, Culpeper, Essex, Fauquier, Goochland, Greene, Hanover, King & Queen, King William, Louisa, Madison, Orange, Rappahannock, Spotsylvania, Stafford, Town of Bowling Green
Northern Neck Electric Cooperative:
• Serving King George, Lancaster, Northumberland, Richmond, Stafford, and Westmoreland
Southside Electric Cooperative: **LARGEST CO-OP in VA** • Serving Amelia, Appomattox, Bedford, Brunswick, Buckingham, Campbell, Charlotte, Chesterfield, Cumberland, Dinwiddie, Lunenburg, Mecklenburg, Nottoway, Pittsylvania, Powhatan, Prince Edward, Prince George and Sussex counties, and the towns of Altavista, Blackstone, Crewe, Hurt, Kenbridge and South Hill; plus the City of Petersburg
Prince George Electric Cooperative:
• Serving Dinwiddie, Isle of Wight, Prince George, Southampton, Surry, Sussex Counties
Community Electric Cooperative:
• Serving City of Suffolk, Isle of Wight and Southampton Counties, along with portions of Sussex and Surry Counties
ANEC:
• Serving Accomack and Northampton on Virginia's Eastern Shore
Also heads up... MEETING NOTICE: ODEC will be holding a Public Forum meeting on the proposed Surry coal plant (aka "Cypress Creek Power Station") on Thurs., Feb. 26, 6:30-8:30 pm, at the L.P. Jackson Middle School, 4255 New Design Road in Dendron, the soon to be hometown for the coal plant, and one sitting just 18 miles as the crow flies from downtown historic Williamsburg.
Recently, Old Dominion Electric Cooperative announced plans to build a new coal-fired power plant in Surry County. This business-as-usual approach to generating electricity may have appeared to make sense in the 20th century, but in light of what we know today about the impacts of burning coal, Virginia can do much better.
The Wise Energy for Virginia Coalition has compared the consequences of generating electricity from coal to the alternatives, and must oppose construction of the new plant.
As utilities strive to keep electricity prices low, they have done everything they can to avoid or "externalize" the actual costs of generating electricity from coal. As a result, the real cost of that electricity - the true cost of coal - is far more than what is reflected on the monthly bill.
Since the 1970s and the passage of the federal Clean Air Act, utilities have spent millions of their customers' dollars lobbying and litigating against laws that would require them to clean up our air. The consequences of this lobbying and litigation are profound. Asthma rates have exploded as we breathe air contaminated with smog and soot, pollution that shortens all our lives. Many of our local fish come with a consumption warning about mercury contamination. Acid rain from the sulfur dioxide and nitrogen coming out of these coal-burning power plants acidifies streams and harms the great forests of the Appalachians. Even the expanding dead zone in the Chesapeake Bay is partially the result of burning coal, which contributes 25 percent or more of the nitrogen that chokes our Bay.
The damage doesn't stop there. Today more and more coal is mined by a method called mountaintop removal mining. Let that sink in: mountaintop removal mining. The companies that provide the coal burned in power plants routinely blow up entire mountains to get at the coal seams and then simply dump the rock and dirt in the nearest stream valley. This practice displaces communities that live in the coal fields, all in the name of cheap electricity.
Overshadowing all this harm associated with burning coal is the looming threat of global climate change. Hampton Roads is particularly vulnerable to the sea level rise that is anticipated to swallow wetlands and waterfront homes and businesses the next 50 to 100 years.
There is a better way. By simply using our electricity more efficiently, we can use considerably less energy to provide the same convenience and do the same work. A study by the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy, released last September, found that in Virginia we could meet close to 30 percent of our electricity needs by 2025 through energy efficiency. Changing our light bulbs to compact fluorescents or even newer LEDs is one example of efficiency, but there is a wide range of existing technologies and techniques to reduce demand at a cost far less than that of building a new power plant. And the good news is these investments in efficiency save money and create far more jobs than building and operating a new coal plant. ACEEE estimates that an even more modest approach to efficiency would save electricity consumers $15 billion through 2025 and create nearly 10,000 new jobs.
These investments give us the time we need to deploy renewable energy technologies such as wind and solar. An analysis by the Virginia Coastal Energy Research Consortium has found that there is a potential for 4 gigawatts of electricity just 12 miles off the coast of Virginia Beach. Investing in offshore wind would bring thousands of new jobs to our region in building and maintaining these wind farms.
There are real alternatives to burning coal to generate electricity. The Wise Energy Coalition stands ready to work with the ODEC to pursue these alternatives.
(This OpEd was published in the Sunday VA Pilot 2/8/09)
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." Let's see what that means:
The Virginia, Maryland & Delaware Association of Electric Cooperatives (VMDAEC) and power supplier Old Dominion Electric Cooperative (ODEC) donated the 4,200 bulbs valued at $18,000.
"This is the equivalent of removing 94 cars per year from Virginia's roads or adding 134 acres of forested land," Virginia Secretary of Natural Resources L. Preston Bryant Jr. said.
Ninety-four cars!?! This is a major step forward?
Right now, Dominion Virginia Power, with Governor Kaine's blessing, is building a 585-megawatt coal-fired power plant in Wise County. This power plant will spew out as much pollution as nearly a million cars, roughly the same number of cars driven in the metro Richmond area. Calling the removal of 94 cars-worth of emissions a major stride for Virginia is, well, ridiculous.
Adding the equivalent of 134 acres of forested land hardly constitutes a step forward either. Mountaintop removal mining is devastating Appalachian communities - 29 mountains have been wiped out in Wise County alone, the site of Dominion's new coal plant. If we took the areas being strip mined in Wise County and put them together, there would be enough land to rebuild the city of Roanoke -- twice.
That's just looking at Virginia right now. If we start to look into the future, this gesture becomes even more insignificant.
Old Dominion Electric Cooperative (ODEC) - one of the co-ops that donated the light bulbs yesterday - has proposed building a massive $6 billion coal plant in Surry County. This plant could be a 1500-megawatt facility, nearly three times the size of the Wise County coal plant. When comparing ODEC's light bulb contribution, which will take about 94 cars off the road, to its plans to build a massive coal plant, which will add nearly 3 million cars to the road, it just seems like we're tripping over our own feet rather than moving forward at all.
It's not to say that changing incandescent light bulbs to CFLs is a bad thing, it's surely not. It's just not the leaps and bounds Gov. Kaine is trumpeting. It's also intriguing that the same day Governor Kaine sent out a release applauding Virginia's co-ops for helping achieve his administration's goals of reducing energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions, he also eliminated one-fifth of the state's air pollution inspectors -- who police everything from massive power plants to neighborhood dry cleaners. Instead of being able to review 1400 sites annually, inspectors will now only be able to make it to less than 800 sites.
Governor Kaine has called this the "Year of the Environment." Let's hope his promise amounts to more than just a couple of light bulbs.
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Old Dominion Electric Cooperative wants to build the largest coal plant in Virginia in the Hampton Roads region. On Monday, Nov. 23rd, the Surry County Planning Commission is holding a public hearing on whether to grant local zoning approval for this controversial plant and allow ODEC to amend the Comprehensive Plans of Surry County and the Town of Dendron. This is a crucial time to speak out against this monstrosity of a coal plant and to maintain control of the direction of our communities!
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.
From 
I attended the ODEC informational hearing on Wednesday as did many locals who don't necessarily need my convincing that the coal plant is a bad idea. They already know!
Where ever you live in Virginia, you may be able to help us stop the Surry County coal plant.
Recently, Old Dominion Electric Cooperative announced plans to build a new coal-fired power plant in Surry County. This business-as-usual approach to generating electricity may have appeared to make sense in the 20th century, but in light of what we know today about the impacts of burning coal, Virginia can do much better.
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