Severe Thunderstorms leave many without power (UPDATED)

This morning (June 30, 2012) upon awakening, we found our electricity was still out as we embark on one of, if not the, hottest days of the year so far in 2012.

I am reporting this via my iPod Touch while it, and our Verizon Wireless MiFi still has battery to do so.

See ya later when power returns.

EDIT: Yea!!! Our power has been back on since about 5 minutes before 11AM EDT.

This was no small storm. And many across the Midwest to the East Coast were hit by it. About 7 10 deaths (see FOX News article update) as of about 11:15 AM EDT had been attributed to this storm.

Apparently something like this actually has a name: Derecho

A derecho (Spanish: derecho “right”, pronounced [de̞ˈɾe̞tʃo̞][1]), is a widespread and long-lived, violent convectively induced straight-line windstorm that is associated with a fast-moving band of severe thunderstorms in the form of a squall line usually taking the form of a bow echo. Derechos blow in the direction of movement of their associated storms, similar to a gust front, except that the wind is sustained and generally increases in strength behind the “gust” front. A warm weather phenomenon, derechos occur mostly in summer, especially June and July in the Northern Hemisphere. They can occur at any time of the year and occur as frequently at night as in the daylight hours.

Some very interesting examples on the Wikipedia site.

Virginia, D.C., Maryland Derecho 2012: Aggressive Storm Knocks Out Power To More Than 1 Million (UPDATED) – HuffPost

Noon Update: 430,000 Remain without Power, Air Conditioning – Manasas Patch

Three states declare emergency after storms leave 10 dead and millions without power – FOX News

Deadly Storms Along the East Coast Leave Millions of People Without Power – NYTimes

Rockefeller: Coal must ‘boldly embrace’ the future

Rockefeller: Coal must ‘boldly embrace’ the future – Coal Tattoo:

Without good health it’s difficult to hold down a job or live the American dream. Chronic illness is debilitating and impacts a family’s income, prosperity and ultimately its happiness.

The annual health benefits of the rule are enormous. EPA has relied on thousands of studies that established the serious and long term impact of these pollutants on premature deaths, heart attacks, hospitalizations, pregnant women, babies and children.

Moreover, it significantly reduces the largest remaining human-caused emissions of mercury–a potent neurotoxin with fetal impacts.

Maybe some can shrug off the advice of the American Academy of Pediatrics and others but I cannot.

Amen and Amen.

Thank you, Sen. Rockefeller!

I am so happy to see this from the Senior United States Senator from West Virginia!

Maybe this will make a difference for West Virginians and also here in Hampton Roads, Virginia with the proposed 1500 MW Cypress Creek Power Station (ODEC’s proposed coal plant in Dendron, Surry County, VA).

Just one from the very interesting comment section:

Howard Swint says:
June 20, 2012 at 1:18 pm

I support Sen. Rockefeller for his bold leadership in this speech. It’s been a long time coming…

EDIT: Here is the link for the poll:

http://wvgazette.com/polls/201206230087

Apparently any readers of the paper can vote, no matter where you live as purported by FriendsOfCoal.org. So please go vote your mind.

Dendron hearings on proposed power plant will be repeated in 2012

Dendron hearings on proposed power plant will be repeated in 2012 – Although Old Dominion Electric Cooperative mulled options, site remains top choice

Old Dominion Electric Cooperative will hold a second round of public hearings on a rezoning and conditional use permit to build the state’s largest coal-fueled power plant in Dendron next year.

On Monday, the company’s executive board decided that Old Dominion will repeat the hearings rather than challenge Surry Circuit Court Judge Sam Campbell’s Nov. 18 ruling that residents were not properly notified of the Dendron Town Council’s intent to vote after the first hearing on Feb. 1, 2010, said company spokesman David Hudgins. The company wants to build Cypress Creek Power Station, a 1,500-megawatt coal-burning power plant, on 1,200 acres in town.

The date of the new public hearing – and a subsequent town council vote – for the proposed power station will not be set until 2012. Company and town attorneys will make sure the town’s intent to vote is clear in any advertisements, Hudgins said.

Glad they can’t pull one over on the public this time…

Sadly, when they can see those dollar signs, I can easily see the Town of Dendron and Surry County going for this all over again…yep. They won’t stop till they get what they want whether it’s good for the health of property owners and residents or not.

Yep, do something stupid and expect God to mitigate the damage to people, the earth and wildlife…whatever happened to taking care of what God gave us?! Coal mining and burning coal … oh, yeah, that’s gotta be a good thing for people (especially children, the elderly and those at risk healthwise like my Jim who is on an oxygen concentrator), the earth and wildlife…oh, yeah…that makes sense. NOT.

Calculating the cost of coal – editorial

Calculating the cost of coal – editorial (HamptonRoads.com)

In a new report, the Chesapeake Bay Foundation estimates that air pollution from the ODEC plant would cost $200 million each year in new health care costs. The report predicts 442 additional asthma attacks annually, 3,340 work days lost to sickness, 40 heart attacks and 26 premature deaths in the region.

Dispute, if you like, the precision of those estimates. But to pretend the actual number is 0 – or anywhere near it – is folly.

So true that…

And those of us who live in Hampton Roads will suffer the consequences … particularly those here in Dendron, VA with health issues already.

Course the needs of the many seem to outweigh the lives of the few, or the one…

Except to the loved ones of those this 1500MW coal plant will put in jeopardy…or worse.

Keep Focus on plans for Coal Plant

Keep Focus on plans for Coal Plant
Originally in The Virginian-Pilot and The Ledger-Star, Norfolk, VA, Oct 2, 2010. The article is by Bob Burnley

In response to ODEC supposedly putting this 1500 MW ‘twin towers’ 24/7 coal plant on ice for 12-18 months, but all the while still continuing their permit process with the USACE and EPA, Bob Burnley reminds us of the following and more in this article:

The plant would make existing environmental and economic problems in the region worse. According to the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America, Virginia Beach ranks 45th on a list of the “most challenging places to live with asthma.” Richmond is No. 1. Three thousand tons of ozone-producing nitrogen oxides and 2,000 tons per year of particulate matter from the plant, just upwind from Virginia Beach, would exacerbate this.

The plant would emit mercury, a neurotoxin. Babies exposed before birth can suffer reduced IQ levels and other neurological problems. Children exposed can suffer learning disabilities and other health issues. There has to be a healthier way to generate electricity.

Citizens across the Bay watershed are paying hundreds of millions of dollars to remove nitrogen from discharges to the Bay and its tributaries. This plant and the thousands of tons of nitrogen compounds emitted from its smokestacks could very well doom the Bay, the region’s watermen and a thriving tourist industry. There must be a less polluting way to generate power.

Much more in this must read article.

We can not forget what they want to do to Dendron, Surry County, Hampton Roads, Virginia, or how this coal is obtained from the ancient mountains in Appalachia through MTR and how Wise Engergy for Virginia and others are trying to help keep this from happening.

More information here on my blog.

Progress in Virginia coal plant fight: ODEC announces postponement

ODEC is delaying building Cypress Creek Power Station for 18-24 months! This is some exciting news! It feels like a reprieve or maybe for some, a stay of execution…

Note however that ODEC is quick to point out that they are not backing down on building the Cypress Creek Power Station, but “The delay is result of uncertain federal regulations and the slumping economy, which has altered the nation’s projected electricity demands. … “The economy just doesn’t seem to be coming out of the recession that quickly,” he said.“

BTW: Here’s something we all can do to help….write to the Army Corps of Engineers (USACE).

Progress in Virginia coal plant fight: ODEC announces postponement!

Old Dominion Electric Co-op announced today that it plans to postpone for up to two years pursuit of air pollution permits for the massive new coal plant it is proposing. This exciting news shows the progress we are making in opposing the plant! The fight is far from over, however, and we need your help to make sure this plant never gets built.

Though ODEC’s plans are delayed the company is working to advance the plant at the local level and is seeking water pollution permits from the Army Corps of Engineers. Please click here to write the Army Corps today to ensure a critical evaluation of ODEC’s purposed need for this massive plant.

Wise Energy for Virginia Coalition Lauds Delay of ODEC’s Plans for Coal-FIred Power Plant ” (also at SELC here);

The Wise Energy for Virginia Coalition lauded Old Dominion Electric Cooperative’s announcement today to delay plans for what would be the largest coal-fired power plant in Virginia. The temporary halt will allow the company, its customers, government officials and the conservation community to explore alternatives that will cost less and cause less harm to the environment.

Woohoo! Delay gives more time to consider the issues. And it must be very gratifying to those who had already calculated from the numbers – even before the economy started collapsing and not recovering as quickly as claimed – that ODEC’s statements on energy needs did not warrant building the 1500 MEGAWATT Cypress Creek Power Station in our backyards here in Dendron, Surry County, VA.

You know, it would be so much better if regulation wasn’t necessary. I for one do not generally agree that more regulation is better; in fact, it usually makes matters worse. I am against government intervention in businesses, or in our lives, in general. I believe in freedom and liberty and how important it is.

However, when the greed of companies (and people’s perceived need of electricity), causes disrespect and neglect in looking out for the health and welfare of those who will live near and around this behemoth power station … I just don’t see what recourse we have. Especially when many residents know this county really needs some financial help which this business would provide. But at what cost?!

This Cypress Creek Power Station will be within 1 mile of ALL residents of the Town of Dendron. But the 30 mile footprint of the worst of the effects of a coal plant this big will affect all of Hampton Roads.

Those of us who see beyond the dollar signs just have to hope that the EPA and the VA Air Board and the USACE will look at everything, not just what ODEC says, and the money or electricity it will provide downline, and come up with sound and safe regulations for the health and welfare of all local residents.

The needs of the many in this case do not outweigh the needs of the few, or the one. Not when there are safer and healthier alternatives that can do what is needed, even if it would cost more money.

People are more important than things.

Ultimately keeping the environment safe means saving lives, or at the very least providing better quality of life. We have to live on this planet, we have to eat the food grown here and livestock raised here, we have to breath the air, and drink the water. We can’t afford to be so shortsighted.

Here’s a good example from a recent situation that happened locally. I will preface this with the fact that it is very infrequent that we, here in Dendron, VA experience poor air quality, but over the last week we actually had a few days when the air quality was poor. This was documented on the NOAA/Weather.gov site.

I have had such good air to breath most of the time, that I forgot what it was to have labored breathing while doing nothing in particular laborious! And it was hard to breath freely — this was particularly true for those with lung ailments (including my Jim who has a paralyzed right side diaphragm). Just think how hard it will be to breath in pretty short order with poor air quality much of the time, if not all the time, after this 1500 MEGAWATT plant goes online 24/7.

What kind of physical stress does that put on a person’s body? I for one do not wish to live that way — day in and day out — just so others who live in another state, or another part of Virginia, can have more electricity. There are ways to generate electricity much more safely for humans and the environment. Let’s make that happen. Please…

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Wise Energy for Virginia Coalition Lauds Delay of ODEC’s Plans for a Coal-Fired Plant (SELC)

Wise Energy for Virginia Coalition Lauds Delay of ODEC’s Plans for Coal-FIred Power Plant (PitchEngine)

Wise Energy for Virginia Coalition calls on ODEC to permanently withdraw delayed coal plant proposal (CCAN)

BREAKING NEWS: ODEC Delays Coal Plant Proposal, Wise Energy Coalition Calls on ODEC to Withdraw (WiseEnergyForVirginia)

Surry coal plant delayed 18-24 months (DailyPress)

ODEC delays plans for power plant permits (VirginiaBusiness)

ODEC Delays Plans for Surry-Hampton Roads Coal Plant (BlueVirginia)

ODEC Delays Plans for Surry-Hampton Roads Coal Plant (Article XI)

And of course many articles about this on my own blog here.

$6 Billion Dollar Coal-fired Power Plant

$6 Billion Dollar Coal-fired Power Plant (ClarkeDailyNews.com):

Clarke Daily News – Opinion & Editorial

The July 15 article “New Electric Provider Promises Better Service and Lower Rates” brings up a very good point. Rappahannock Electric Cooperative (REC) members are part owners of their utility. As part owners, they have the right to know what REC is doing, to have a voice in the decision making process, and to hold the board of directors accountable for its decisions.

So why was Rob Marmet, a candidate for the board of directors, the only one to mention the $6 billion coal plant being proposed by REC’s parent cooperative? It is the most expensive plant ever proposed in the U.S., yet it was barely touched upon by the board. Instead, they promised lower rates. Where is this $6 billion going to come from, if not the electricity bills of the members?

If 15,000 new members did not receive their membership packets, as stated by REC, how many of them did not receive their Cooperative Living magazine that contains their proxy ballot? This is the only way in which members are able to vote for the board of directors and express their views about REC’s already apparent lack of transparency and accountability. REC is clearly not providing its members with vital information about decisions within the co-op, nor are they making the decision-making process easily accessible to new members. I urge REC members to make their voices heard on these matters before it’s $6 billion too late.

Justin Klecha

Fredericksburg, Virginia

The article Justin Klecha is referring to is here: New Electric Provider Promises Better Service and Lower Rates – worth a read.

And there is more information on REC’s Board of Directors Candidate Rob Marmet here: Rob4Rec.com where he asks some pointed questions regarding the costs involved for the new proposed ODEC plant in Dendron, Surry County, Virginia. The REC is a member of the Cooperative for which ODEC provides power. (From the Get The Facts tab) where Rob Marmet says:

The Proposed Surry Coal Plant

In December 2008, REC’s parent cooperative, Old Dominion Electric Cooperative (ODEC), announced plans to construct a 1,500 megawatt coal-fired power plant just 32 miles from the Chesapeake Bay in Hampton Roads. It would be the largest coal plant in Virginia and the most expensive plant ever constructed in the U.S.

This coal-fired plant’s daily environmental impact would be the equivalent of putting three million more cars on our roads. Requiring at least 26 million gallons of water daily from the James River, the plant would spew more than 110,000 pounds of toxic emissions daily into our air and water. Pollutants including lead, mercury, and nitrogen could devastate sensitive oyster and crab spawning grounds and undermine renewed efforts to restore the Bay.

The plant would be in danger of stifling other economic development in the area as a result of poor air quality and non-attainment designations. More than 100 coal plants have been canceled, delayed, or rejected in the United States since 2001 due to similar concerns.

If built, the project will cost upwards of $4-6 billion. Cooperative members will be locked into a 40 to 50 year obligation, ultimately paying $8,989-$13,483 per household for the cost of the plant. REC board members have been making these decisions behind closed doors and providing little information about the project and its potential effects on members’ rates.
Money Spent to Date
Disclosed Costs

Land purchased for coal plant: $14.3 million

Land purchased for water intake facility: $1.1 million

Clean Air Act application: $1.1 million

Rezoning fee: $10,000

Money promised to the town of Dendron, proposed site for the plant:
Playground: $100,000
Water repairs: $600,000
New sidewalks: $65,000
Undisclosed Costs

Designing plant, attorney fees, modeling and analysis for permitting applications

Total Spent: About $16 million dollars

Projected additional costs: More than $5 billion

How much does REC owe? Rob Marmet wants answers!

Yeah, the proposed plant is very close to the James River which feeds the Chesapeake Bay and all of Hampton Roads which is bad, but it’s also within 1 mile (stack shadow) of our little rural town of Dendron, Surry County where, if built, there will be 2 huge stacks spewing all this crap that Rob Marmet talks about right outside our little town’s home’s windows….and so much more….

It is sad to see that ODEC appears to have won in Dendron and Surry County where all they can see are the dollar signs in a very down economy … instead of the long term health red flag signs that everyone will have to live with for a very long time ….

Check out other articles I have posted here on my blog about this proposed coal fired power plant since this all started here in Dendron, Surry County, Virginia here.

A Tale of Two Cities and The Broken Promise of Coal

A Tale of Two Cities and The Broken Promise of Coal

The article and photos by Tom Pelton on the the Chesapeake Bay Foundation blog.

I recently drove down to the blackwater swamps of southern Virginia to witness a tale of two cities. Many residents of tiny, rural Dendron (population, 300) see their community’s economic salvation in the construction of a coal-fired power plant. But others are deeply worried about the health impacts of toxic mercury pollution and microscopic soot particles. Down the road from Dendron, the town of Clover, Virginia, tried a similar path to renaissance 17 years ago — and learned a sobering lesson.

There are several interviews from both Dendron/Surry County residents and Clover/Halifax County residents, as well as the following:

Harvard School of Public Health Associate Professor Dr. Jonathan Levy, an expert on power plant pollution, said that particulates from the Dendron plant’s smokestacks would likely increase the number of asthma and heart attacks in people living across a wide region. “We’ve done a series of studies over the years looking at power plants in specific geographic areas and across the country. And in general we’ve found that the public health burdens are quite large – on the order of tens of thousands of premature deaths per year. When placed in monetary terms, the damages can be quite large, in relation to the cost of electricity.”

ODEC has been trying to say all is safe for residents of Dendron. However, you have to wonder about that. They can’t place the power plant ‘too close’ to the wetlands, but they can place it closer to the Town of Dendron? Yes, they had to move it closer to the Town and it’s residents because of the dangers to the wetlands, believe it or not!

Oh, and do you see how well the Clover plant in the picture above from the CBF article is hidden from view? ODEC also says that the plant will not be an eyesore or all that visible to the Town that it backs up to?! Yeah right…I buy that.

And as discovered by Tom Pelton, the town of Clover didn’t get the economic benefits either. So are we in the Town of Dendron supposed to believe that that will happen here?

I talked to several residents of Clover. They told me that they, just like the people of Dendron, really hoped the construction of a coal plant would spark a rebirth of their long-shrinking town. But after the Clover Power Station opened in 1995, the community’s only restaurant closed, followed by its grocery store and school.

By 1998, Clover had so few residents and so little money, officials took the rare step of dissolving the town.

It no longer exists.

Is that what ODEC hopes will happen to our little town too?

And what if they build this on the smaller property in Sussex County instead of the Town of Dendron? Will Dendron be in the clear? Not likely. I recently heard that the Surry Board of Supervisors got a big surprise on that score too. Even if they build the power plant in Sussex County, they will still likely be shipping the Coal Ash to a new Fly Ash landfill with all it’s hazardous dangers … to DENDRON! And will they still do the railroad to ship it to Dendron? Or bring it by truck? Either way will be disasterous for the Town of Dendron.

We can’t win for losing!

AND they will still be needing water from the James River and still within the same area that they had originally noted if the plant were in Dendron. So the James River will still have environmentally detrimental affects from the ODEC plant.

Oh, and if they still do either or both of these things; eminent domain will still be a threat to property owners in both Surry and Sussex Counties.

As I say, we can’t win for losing…

And what of the state of attainment for Hampton Roads and Virginia because of this plant?

I think that some may now be thinking that as unwanted as the OLF was/is — that it would have been/would be better than this disaster!

VA DEQ, EPA, and USACE … last hope to block largest coal plant in Virginia?

Well, after February 1st Dendron Town Council (DTC) Meeting where they approved everything that ODEC Old Dominion Electric Cooperative) wanted, and February 4th Surry Board of Supervisor (BoS) Meeting where they approved everything ODEC wanted, and the Sussex Meeting the same night where they approved everything ODEC wanted … see a trend here? … It looks like the VA DEQ (Department of Environmental Quality), the EPA, and the USACE (US Army Corp of Engineers) may be the last best hope for the folks who are concerned about ODEC’s plans to build Virginia’s largest coal fired baseload 24/7 power plant in the tiny town of Dendron in Surry County, Virginia.

I sometimes wonder at any kind of logic being used in rural counties that are experiencing revenue challenges in the economic turn down we have been experiencing.

I see totally unbelievable decisions being made by our local governments with no thought to how it will affect the Hampton Roads area, the Chesapeake Bay and James River, or the farms that naively think that they will be able to continue farming safely after this plant is operational, or even our little town. Or their thinking that somehow the blood money they have taken and will continue to take from ODEC will protect them against the economic bad times and keep the county going forward, or give them any kind of good sleep at night. Yeah, maybe in the short term, but what about the long term?

What about the downwind and downline affects to people, including children at the Surry County School system? What about the affects upon those who are ill from the particulate matter, mercury, sulfur dioxide, ozone, and more that will be spewed by such a huge plant that makes our town look like it’s a dwarf by comparison? There are so many issues that are not addressed, and all I heard from the proponents of the Cypress Creek Power Plant is that they trust our government and ODEC to do the right thing?!?!

Well, the floodgates are open now. All that stands in their way now is the VA DEQ, the EPA and the USACE.

I have always believed that even in the face of terrible things — because life is full of all kinds of things; good, bad and indifferent — that God is able to take the worst lemons that are dealt to us, and somehow make the best lemonade out of them. I pray that somehow, in some way, that will happen with this situation. I can’t see it now, but I sure hope so.

But I did learn something important about this situation. You can’t fight dollar signs. Logic and facts mean nothing when huge amounts of money are thrown at local governments, churches and people who are suffering from economic turn down.

I will be hoping and praying for that lemonade … because these are the bitterest and most rotten lemons I have every seen.

January 2010 Snow Storm in Virginia

Well, had to cut the time with my family a day short due to the pending snow storm since they were calling for the once a decade or two snow storm here in Virginia. They are calling for a combined accumulation of a 12 inches or more here in our area between overnight last night and overnight Sunday.

Many in the north wouldn’t think twice about that kind of snow storm, but here in the ‘Sunny South’ you don’t get them very often and the State and local governments and the utilities are generally not particularly well prepared for these types of events in the South.

When I lived in up north at the Jersey Shore we had many, many snow storms and ice storms over the years that I lived there, and I can only remember a few in all those years as being particularly dangerous – one was an ice storm in early 70s (beautiful!!! but the black ice was very scary and solid and you had to go about 5mph or less inching along so you didn’t hit the other cars on your way to work), and another was a snow storm while I was pregnant with our second daughter in Feb/March ’77 – I remember that one because I fell on my hip in a parking lot of solid ice/snow when I was 8 months pregnant (no problems with the fall but I was afraid there might be).

As far as this storm goes for today and tomorrow — January 30 and January 31 2010 — so far, there was a dusting on the roof when we went to sleep late last night but this morning, the roof was heavy with snow, somewhere between 4-6 inches already on the ground when we got up, and the snow was coming down heavy.

Should be an interesting weekend. Picked up some things that can be eaten without much fuss just in case the electricity goes out like it did in the snow storm a decade ago.

We do tend to get some big winter type storms once every decade or so. Here are a couple notable snow/ice storms in Virginia since I moved to Virginia in the mid 80s.

February 1989: This was a month of big swings in the weather for Southeast Virginia. Twice, Norfolk saw record high temperatures in the mid 70°s followed by a significant snowfall. The two storms dumped a record 24.4 inches of snow in Norfolk. Over 14 inches occurred during one 24-hour period. It was the most snow to occur in one month in southeast Virginia in the last 100 years.

It was a shame the kids were sick with bronchitis at the time and couldn’t go outside during that storm. We made a snow man for them and they chose the eyes, nose, and other decorations for the snow man. Even our dog pitched in and added his own decoration, LOL!

After we moved to Southside Virginia (still Hampton Roads but South of the James River) — The Christmas Ice Storm 1998, where we lost power for many days and the after affects seemed to hang on and on into January 1999:

December 23, 1998, “The Christmas Ice Storm”: A major ice storm struck central and southeast Virginia beginning on Wednesday, December 23 and lasting into Friday, December 25, Christmas Day. Icy conditions caused injuries from slips and falls and numerous vehicle accidents. Ice accumulations of up to an inch brought down trees and power lines. Outages were so widespread (400,000 customers on Christmas Eve) that some people were without power for up to ten days.

Snow is generally easier to deal with than ice, but we shall see what happens here in our area this time. We used batteries to light the Christmas Tree in 1998 due to the massive power outage. We are survivors and we just treated it like camping out and played with our batteries, and had kerosene heaters to heat the house so we didn’t really worry about things as much as some. We made coffee on top of the big kerosene heater and broke out our camp stove to cook on as well.

BTW: They were calling for some mix of sleet with the snow for a time today, and it sounds like we may be getting some of that at the moment.

Maybe my Jim will feel up to taking some pictures of the storm later today.

I will try to do updates to this posting throughout the day or make a new posting.

Looks beautiful!

I don’t expect this to be scary on the scale of scary storms up north but I do expect to be really inconvenienced LOL!