Today the Virginia Air Board had its quarterly meeting and looking at the agenda one thing is crystal clear: Coal is impacting air quality all over the Commonwealth.
As I write this from the meeting room, and the Air Board is hearing reports on problems associated with coal-fired power plants from one end of the state to the other, an indication of the growing focus on issues related to mining and burning coal in Virginia. No fewer than seven coal-related issues are on today’s agenda.
Currently I am listening to the preliminary findings from ongoing monitoring of air quality in residential areas of Wise County (Roda to be specific). These areas are affected by toxic dust from trucks transporting coal from mountaintop removal sites to nearby processing facilities. So far I’ve heard from two Department of Environmental Quality employees and one representative for Cumberland Resources (the coal company creating the dust). Public testimony from the community is yet to come but a pattern is clear in regards to what the coal industry thinks about the dust issue in Roda: Yes, there’s toxic dust in air but it’s no one’s fault. Could be attributed to faulty data perhaps or bad roadways, but we certainly shouldn’t be concerned if it’s only dangerous to breathe a couple of days a year. Apparently air is not connected: air tested at one person’s house doesn’t mean the community’s air is dirty.
Last I checked breathing wasn’t something we can decide to do only on days when the air isn’t filled with toxic dust.
They Air Board is also reviewing a proposal by Old Dominion Electric Cooperative to build a 1,500-megawatt power plant in Surry County, which would be the single largest coal-burning plant in the Commonwealth. During the public comment period, we got to hear from several residents from Surry County who have serious concerns with regards to this plant. The Surry coal plant discussion came right after testimony on “High Priority Violators,” which highlighted that coal plants in Hampton, Charlottesville and Russell County are all exceeding their air pollution permits. It’s no surprise that the citizens of Dendron and surrounding Surry County are opposed to having a monstrous 1500 MW facility in their backyards. Preliminary air permit applications have indicated that this plant will dump plenty of toxic emissions into the air and water — from mercury to carbon dioxide to fly ash to lead.
I think it’s fair to say you hear pretty regularly about the impacts of CO2 as an endangerment to public health given the recent Environmental Protection Agency finding, and people do what they can to moderate their fish intake due to mercury concerns.
One issue you don’t hear about in the front of the news is lead, mainly because the jury isn’t out debating the impacts on lead. We’ve been pretty clear on how dangerous lead is for a while now and it’s been removed from all aspects of our lives (even in amounts as small as what used to be in our pencils!).
Betsy Shepard, who lives in Surry County got it right when she offered public testimony and held up a Thomas the Train toy that her son plays with. She noted that toys containing lead paint are to be removed from her children at once because they are a risk. Then she noted that the Surry coal plant is projected to emit 1000 pounds of lead each year for the next 50 years!!! What is Betsy supposed to do if this plant is approved? How is she to remove the risk that air will pose to her family?
There is a lot on the agenda today, lots of concerns have been raised with regards to coal’s cumulative impact on the Commonwealth. I have hope that a new energy future is not far off as we begin to make the connection between air quality and public health and coal and our electricity. As the true cost of our energy enters the public domain, we will begin to transition to a clean energy economy that will expand the Commonwealth’s economy and ensure public health.
