Virginia's Air Polution Control Board Grants Final Permit
On Wednesday, June 25, the state of Virginia granted the final permit to Dominion's massive new coal plant that will send dirty electricity to Northern Virginia. But the fight is far from over. We are headed to court where we believe the controversial $1.8 billion plant will be rejected - in part on global warming grounds.
In response to the outpouring of public opposition, the Air Board made a number of significant changes to the permits. These changes drastically curtail Dominion's ability to emit mercury, sulfur dioxide, hydrogen chloride and carbon monoxide. Read the permit here>>
But ultimately the Virginia Air Pollution Control Board awarded final permits for a new 585-megawatt coal-burning plant that has no technology whatsoever to capture greenhouse gases and still fails to meet federally required maximum controls for the neurotoxin mercury and 60 other hazardous air pollutants. Despite a 2007 U.S. Supreme Court ruling (Massachussetts vs. EPA) that establishes carbon dioxide is a pollutant under the Clean Air Act, the state of Virginia has now approved a plant that radically departs from the nation's new clean energy focus.
Opposition to the boondoggle Wise County coal plant is huge and growing! Over 20,000 Virginians have signed a petition against the plant, putting us well on our way to reaching our 50,000 goal.
This April, can you commit to helping us reach our signature goal? Thanks to your efforts, we've slowed down the process and the opposition to this plant is growing. But we need your help to reach critical mass and stop the plant once and for all!
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