Fairfax Board Drags Feet on Coal…

Live from the Fairfax County Government Building…

(11:40)I am reporting live today, listening in on the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors hearing, waiting for news on whether the Fairfax Board will submit comments for the Department of Environmental Quality on the impacts of a new coal plant in Wise County on the residents of Fairfax County.

This board meeting room is the biggest one I have ever been in, and I can’t wait to hear the good news that our Supervisors will deliver soon…

(12:35) Anthony Griffin, county executive, withdraws the motion without debate… something is going on here…

(3:00) So I have had some time to think about what happened at the Board meeting today (and a little time to cool down), and I will give it to you straight here — something is going on here. The Board has been in some way contacted by Dominion power or one of their henchmen (that includes our General Assembly Members) and convinced the Fairfax county board that commenting for the DEQ on this power plant would not be a good idea. This stinks of insider politics. Why does it stink?

  1. The agenda item regarding submitting comments for the DEQ was immediately withdrawn without debate. We contacted enough Board members, we had the names of six board members that already supported the comments, and we had the critical commentary that the Chairman had already submitted for the DEQ in hand — we had enough votes to pass this board matter last week, why was it not even talked about on Monday?

  2. None of our strongest advocates said anything when the Board matter was being withdrawn — Chairman Connolly, Supervisor Smyth, and Supervisor Hyland said nothing — that makes me think that somebody was silencing them…

  3. Dominion has enough money and influence in this state to pull strings when they need to, it doesn’t seem unlikely that they would feel compelled to meddle in Fairfax county business…

So that is it. Now we must regroup and stay on top of our Supervisors and let them know that the issue of a new coal plant in Wise County and the impacts that it will have on our air are too great to ignore. Contact paul@chesapeakeclimate.org to help fight Dominion power in Fairfax county.

Fairfax to Comment on Wise County Monday…

Monday morning, the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors will discuss a board matter to submit testimony for the Department of Environmental Quality in regards to the impacts that a new coal fired power plant in Wise County would have on Fairfax. If built, a new coal fired power plant in Wise County, Virginia could negatively impact Fairfax’s air quality, the health of Northern Virginians and serve as a counter productive step in Fairfax’s campaign to help minimize global warming pollution.

Since the power generated by a new coal plant would principally the high growth areas of Virginia, like Fairfax, and because Dominion’s rate payers in Northern Virginia are likely to foot a majority of the bill of new energy infrastructure, many Fairfax residents are demanding that their county representatives help them voice concerns over new coal development.

In regards to a new coal fired power plant, Eleanor Whitaker of Fairfax say, “I freely admit that I enjoy the amenities that electricity provides, and if we had no other choices for the production of energy, we would have a difficult decision on our hands. But that is not where we are. Virginia is currently ranked at, or near the bottom, of all the states in the union in terms of energy efficiency.”

Even the Chairman of the Fairfax County Board Gerry Connolly has voiced his opposition to Dominion’s coal fired power plant.

Focus on your future…

In a conversation that I had with a volunteer today, she told me about a friend of hers that recently was part of a focus group commissioned by Dominion Power. The goal of the focus group was to discuss how to present our energy options, and which energy options are the most attractive to the general public. Seems like pretty standard advertising, right? You want to know how to sell your product to consumers, right? Continue reading

11,000 Student Signatures for Carbon Neutrality!

Last Friday, February 15th, the Maryland Student Climate Coalition (MSCC) had a major victory in their campaign for a comprehensive University System-wide policy of carbon neutrality. After many months of hard work the MSCC, a coalition of students from 8 of the institutions in the University System of Maryland (USM), presented more than 11,000 petition signatures to the University System of Maryland (USM) Board of Regents. That’s right, 11,000 signatures! That means that almost 10% of the student body in the entire university system signed on in support of this policy! Continue reading

Letters for Global Warming Solutions in MD Needed!

In case you hadn’t already heard, Governor O’Malley came out publicly and strongly in support of the Global Warming Solutions Act yesterday. This is really exciting news, but it doesn’t mean that the fight is over. Already, the opposition is claiming that this bill will hurt Maryland’s economy. Let’s get some letters to the editor out that not only thank the Governor, but address some of the concerns that have been recently raised. Continue reading

Grist: "Tim Kaine burns national ambitions in coal furnace"

Check out a great piece by Glenn Hurowitz, (author a great book, “Fear and Courage in the Democratic Party”) on Gov. Kaine and coal in Virginia. http://gristmill.grist.org/story/2008/2/19/10055/7748

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Weasel of the week

Tim Kaine burns national ambitions in coal furnace

Posted by Glenn Hurowitz at 2:39 PM on 19 Feb 2008

Virginia’s Democratic governor Tim Kaine, often mentioned as a possible vice presidential nominee, seems to be flushing his ambitions for national office down the toilet by actively working to build yet another coal-fired power plant for one of his biggest campaign donors.

Kaine has tried to present himself as a green, forward-thinking governor by proposing a “Virginia Energy Plan” he claimed would reduce greenhouse-gas emissions by 30 percent. True, Kaine is going ahead with plans to purchase 27,000 compact fluorescent bulbs (which will save the amount of electricity used by — wait for it — 1300 [!] homes). But when it comes to things that actually matter — like where Virginia gets its energy — he’s actively backing the construction of a new greenhouse-gas- and toxic-pollution-belching coal-fired power plant in Virginia’s Wise County.

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Coal Ruins Kaine? Say it ain't so…

Governor KaineWith less than two years left in Governor Kaine’s tenure as the leader of the great Commonwealth of Virginia, questions are starting to get raised as to whether his partnership with big industrial interests will threaten his ability to get another job.

An article on Grist seems to paint a picture of a Governor whose stock is rapidly falling due to his steadfast support of Virginia’s major polluters. The author cites figures from the Virginia Public Access Project (vpap.org) that states that Tim Kaine has received over $135,000 from Dominion… no wonder he hasn’t spoken out against Dominions Wise County coal fired power plant…

So who is the Governor going to be loyal to? Dominion Power and their money, or the hundreds of thousands of Virginians that were the ones that voted him into office by the narrowest of margins? Right now, it looks like he is standing by Dominion.

But is that the right choice? Maybe if he could run for re-election for the position of governor of Virginia — but he can’t, there is a one term limit. So why is he choosing to burn his bridges in Virginia with the people that got him elected? I don’t know if the governor has been reading polling data or listening to the pundits, but Virginia is rapidly turning into a blueish swing state. If Tim Kaine has any intention of ever holding a national office or moving up the political ladder, it will be hard to defend his decision to stick by Dominion Power and the Wise County Coal plant that he personally endorsed.

The future is in clean energy, not in coal. Obama knows it. Clinton knows it. Even McCain sort of knows it.

Governor Kaine can’t buy another term as Virginia’s governor with Dominion’s money, but he can buy himself some national attention and save his reputation by stopping the Wise County coal plant.

America wants a leader Mr. Kaine, not another industry stooge.

This power plant will be your legacy whether you like it or not. It is up to you how the legacy will read.

Click here to tell the Governor to stop the Wise County plant today!

Wise Co. Coal DEQ Hearing…

Live from Dominion Boulevard at the beautiful Marriott in Glenn Allen, Virginia, here is your live blog on the last Department of Environmental Quality hearing for Dominion’s proposed Wise County coal fired power plant…

(6:15pm)First and foremost, seriously, this hearing is on Dominion Blvd. I think that is because we are in close proximity to a Dominion office, or it is because Dominion owns this road… one or the other… Either way, the irony that an environmental hearing is taking place on Dominion Blvd is not lost on this attendee.

There are about 300 people here, many of whom oppose the plant. For the first time in the series of hearings on the Wise Co. plant, opponents were one of the first ones to sign up to testify. At other hearings, Dominion’s supporters (which include employees…) testified for up to two hours before any opponents got a chance to speak. This is due in large part to the fact that the actual sign up time posted by the DEQ is often very different than the posted sign up time. Today, sign up was scheduled to begin at 4:45pm. The first sign up sheet was posted at 3:00pm. But thankfully, we learned our lesson and got we were staked out at the hearing location starting at 9:30am this morning in preparation for this predictable twist.

Josh Tulkin was the first opponent to testify today. His testimony was highlighted when he asked all the opponents of the plant at the hearing to stand up. Half the room stood up, and DEQ Chairman immediately said, “Mr. Tulkin, you are out of order!” To which Mr. Tulkin coyly replied, “I respectfully withdraw my request.”

Other testimony include a statement from Gerald E. Connolly, the Chairman of the Fairfax County Board, in which he respectfully asked Dominion to explore alternatives to the coal plant that would harm the air quality in Fairfax and totally offset all the progress that counties like Fairfax have made through local initiatives to reduce carbon dioxide emissions.

Oh, and a side note, I would like to thank Dominion for feeding me.

(7:36pm) About half the people here have left. The break was festive and the students seemed have an an expectational time. I get the feeling that the plant opponents of the plant now far outnumber the proponents… now the party can really begin.

The best quote of the night so far came from one JMU student (I already forgot his name) who stepped up to the microphone and said, “My name is Joe Smith, and I am not a former employee of Dominion…” We all laughed…

(7:48pm) A man just walked up to me as I was sitting and told me how there is, “no Mountain Top removal in the state of Virginia.” Seriously. He said that, and I don’t think he was joking. I respectfully informed him that he was mistaken and that I could show him pictures taken from a tour of the Mountains of Wise County that I took last week. The Bristol-Herald Courier also took the same tour… I guess what we saw doesn’t exist…

FYI, 25% of Wise County’s total land area has already been leveled due to mountain top removal.

(7:55pm) Richmond City Councilman Marty Jewell just testified. He is very concerned about global warming and how the proposed power plant would effect Richmond’s air quality.

“I like cream in my coffee, not sludge!” — Councilman Jewell, in reference to mountain top removal mining.