LilBambi’s Blog – BambisMusings

Army Corps of Engineers Solicits Public Comment on Two Proposals Related to Nationwide Permit 21 in the Appalachian Region (Earthtimes.org)

Posted by the USACE:

WASHINGTON, July 15 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced today it is soliciting public comments on two proposals related to the use of Nationwide Permit (NWP) 21 in the nation’s Appalachian region. NWP 21 authorizes discharges of dredged or fill material into waters of the United States for surface coal mining activities.

The proposals would affect only the Appalachian region of the following states: Kentucky, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia. The use of NWP 21 for surface coal mining activities in other regions of the country would not be affected.

The first proposal is to modify NWP 21 to prohibit its use in the Appalachian region. In the absence of NWP 21, an applicant would be required to obtain an individual permit for surface coal mining projects. An individual permit includes increased public and agency involvement in the permit review process, including an opportunity for public comment on individual projects.

The second proposal is to suspend NWP 21 while the Corps evaluates the comments received during the 30-day comment period, and while the Corps completes the process to modify NWP 21. If NWP 21 is suspended during this interim period, an applicant would be required to obtain an individual permit for surface coal mining projects.

The Corps’ decision to issue these proposals is a result of the interagency action plan agreed to on June 11, 2009, as part of a Memorandum of Understanding signed by the Corps, the U.S. Department of the Interior, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The agencies agreed to work together to reduce the adverse environmental impacts of surface coal mining activities in the Appalachian region. A copy of the MOU is available at: http://www.usace.army.mil/CECW/Pages/moumoas.aspx.

A public notice on the proposals was published in the July 15, 2009 Federal Register, http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2009/pdf/E9-16803.pdf . Written comments should be submitted at the federal eRulemaking portal at http://www.regulations.gov under docket number COE-2009-0032; or mailed to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Attn: CECW-CO (Attn: Ms. Desiree Hann), 441 G. Street N.W., Washington, D.C. 20314. Comments must be submitted on or before August 14, 2009. Email or faxed comments will not be accepted.

SOURCE U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

It would appear to me that the USACE does try to do what they can to protect the communities and nature when they have the support of the government, and the public. But, I would think it would be difficult to do so if their hands are tied by either weak laws, greed, or when those in places of power bend like reeds in the wind.

I am sorry to say that this is too little, too late. The existing laws it seems have not been fully enforced as they should be for a very long time — for 500 mountains are already blown up! And hundreds more are in the pike.

What ever happened to “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you” — is that too much to ask? Those who think these practices are good, or at least a necessary evil, could they, or more importantly would they, walk in the moccasins, drink the water, live in the homes of those who have suffered due to these destructive or at best polluting practices? Would they want this done to their home? The same holds true for coal plants.

Honestly, it seems to me that even the current laws would be difficult to adhere to when confronted with such a destructive process as Mountain Top Removal. The process itself is the problem.

IMHO, either those who are mining coal should figure out how to get the coal out without impacting the surrounding natural area (the forests, streams, animals, etc.) and the human communities that have put their entire lives and fortunes into their mountain homes, or find a new safer business model that doesn’t hurt people, places or things.

Certainly, renewable energy sources would be much safer for everyone and everything and not be the one shot that Mountain Top Removal is (once you blow up the mountain and take the coal, it’s gone). Not to mention the joke of supposedly trying to put the mountains back to rights after they’ve already been destroyed.

The effects of MTR (Mountain Top Removal) on communities and nature, and the other end of the spectrum, the effects of Coal Fired Power Plants on communities and nature, can be seen through many places including my postings, iLoveMountains.org, Environmental Justice or through searches in search engines. It truly is appalling.

Even if other methods are, or seem like they are more expensive right now, they won’t be for long as they become more ubiquitous. Just as in other areas, once the R&D has been paid for, the prices do come down.

NO ONE SHOULD SUFFER TO PROVIDE ELECTRICITY TO ANYONE.
EVER.

The Quest for Environmental Justice: Human Rights

Hmmm, ODEC has proposed a 1,500 MW baseload coal fired power plant — running 24/7, with two fly ash/coal ash landfills, two turbines, two 600 foot stacks polluting the air, land, water, livestock, humans, and additionally causing sight, noise and light pollution … yeah, I think this scenario certainly fits with the topic of Environmental Justice discussed in this video.

Dendron, Va. chooses its own future. (ChesapeakeClimate.org)

Thank you so much Peebles for a wonderful article about the meeting last night! I am still so excited about the outcome! And so thankful to all the people (and thoughts and prayers) that made this possible!

Below find just a few (5-7 is still a few right? LOL!) paragraphs of the great article written by Peebles on ChesapeakeClimate.org (The whole article is a must read!):

The last time that Dendron came to vote on the ordinance to retain its zoning rights, the atmosphere was quite different from last night’s. ODEC employees filled the June 2 meeting, creating an unbalance that went far from unnoticed. Taking up a large portion of Recreational Center’s front-row seats, ODEC’s presence was pronounced – and unwelcome.

This time, the Coalition to Keep Surry Clean, Wise Energy for Virginia, and students from the nearby College of William and Mary turned out, in force, to ensure that Dendron’s residents were given priority in the meeting hall by “saving spots” outside while locals arrived. Due to the efforts of Surry and Dendron’s concerned and active citizenry, last night’s demographic within the meeting was strikingly different from the month before. With upwards of 25 Dendron residents, supported by more than 50 folks from surrounding Surry County, gone were the suits and ties of ODEC’s Glen Allen headquarters, near Richmond. Gone also, was the attitude that a new coal plant would bring the economic boon of the 1920’s back to the struggling town. As the meeting progressed, the council made two key moves to ensure its independence as a town in determining its future.

In a somewhat surprise move, Councilwoman Misti Furr began by introducing a resolution to establish a planning commission within Dendron, to be charged with evaluating zoning permits for land within the town proper. The vote was a necessity, as the council would be expected to vote on the zoning ordinance later that evening, which would greatly diminish the town’s control over its permitting process by delegating a large portion of it to Surry County. Furr’s resolution passed, giving Dendron its own planning commission, who will have to handle ODEC’s zoning permit, provided that control over permitting stay with the town. That decision remained uncertain, further down the evening’s agenda.

Before the decision over that ordinance came to vote, residents and concerned individuals were permitted to speak before the council and audience, and as the queue began to move along, a fascinating trend began to emerge.

Unlike last month’s meeting, where ODEC garnered support from its own employees and purposefully misled low-income and struggling families, Monday’s atmosphere was one much more aware of the terrible implications for environmental, economic, and human health that a dirty coal plant would bring to their small community. At least, it seemed, some of the untruths, dispelled by ODEC over the past few months, had finally been discredited, much to the benefit of those citizens in opposition to the plant.

This attitude was reflected in the council’s final vote, as the body decided to reject any imposition by the county on the capacity of Dendron to decide its own future. With a wire-thin 3-2 margin, a great sigh of relief gripped the meeting hall as ODEC and its cadre of supporters left the hall, flustered and frustrated. Now, ODEC will be required to submit its zoning permit to the town, where it will decide whether or not the plant will move forward, free from interference by the coal-friendly county, and totally in its own hands.

What will happen now is, for the moment, uncertain. The coal industry has deep pockets, while most folks in Dendron do not. The struggle against this plant is a long way from over, and the rejection of county control over the zoning process marks but a small step in a very, very, large fight.

Thanks again to the many Dendron residents (as well as property owners that hope to be residents in time), Surry residents, Isle of Wight residents, and other surrounding communities (too many to name but you know who you are!!), as well as the Coalition To Keep Surry Clean, Wise County VA Coalition and AppVoices (including the fantastic Kayti and Mike!), Sierra Club (Glen, Tyla, Jim, and so many others!), Chesapeake Bay Foundation, CCAN, and so many others that helped us get where we were last night at the Dendron Town Council meeting, plus the William and Mary students, and residents from Williamsburg and Hampton that came to the meeting in support of Dendron residents during the meeting.

As Betsy from the Coalition To Keep Surry Clean said in an email:

Thanks to the Council members who took a big stand.
Thanks to everyone who came out and made their presence felt.
Thanks to the brave attendees who stood up to speak.
Thanks to those who brought info, fans, petitions, signs to pass along physically and verbally to our neighbors and others.
Thanks to the W&Ms for coming and helping us hold the line and chairs.
Thanks to the Wise Energy Coalition folks for supporting us and picking up the tab for so many of our endeavors and materials.
Thanks to Mike and Kayti for being such total and complete rockstars–personally and professionally.

Amen!!

And thanks to writers like Peebles through his article at ChesapeakeClimate.org and Desiree Parker through her article at Williamsburg Yorktown Daily (wydaily.com) reporting about the meeting on websites today, as well as others at HamptonRoads.com and The Daily Press.

And of course thanks to those who stayed home or at the Bible Study I missed to attend the meeting, and prayed during the meeting as well!

I really think it took all of us to make this happen!

Our little town of Dendron — at least has a fighting chance to do what we Dendron residents (all of us together) can do to forge our own future! Maybe this is what Dendron needed to pull us all together to make this happen.

Things are looking up!

And while we are at it, lets not forget our connection to Mountain Top Removal through use in existing coal plants in Virginia, as well as if we were to allow this coal fired baseload 24/7 plant to be built. We aren’t the only ones we hurt with coal plants…we all share the same planet, the same air, and the same fate.

EDIT: To add two videos pertinent to the Dendron Town Council Meeting:

Woman responds to threats re: Dendron Coal Plant in Virginia

First Victory over Big Coal in Va.

Please come if you can, or keep us in your thoughts and prayers if you can’t because the Dendron Town Council Meeting will be holding their monthly meeting tonight at the Dendron Fire Station building on Rt 31 in Dendron.

The Town Council deferred important action regarding zoning of the property on which ODEC seeks approval and rezoning to industrial status in order to build the 1,500MW coal fired power plant with two turbines and two 600 ft stacks, and 2 flyash/coal ash landfills backing up even closer to Dendron residents than previously thought due to USACE requirements to move it further away to protect the wetlands.

I have no problem with protecting the wetlands, but what about the people that live in Dendron? Now it will be that much closer to the residents of Dendron.

Protect the wetlands but not the people? Hmmmm.

These are great videos on CNN Money with Robert Kennedy, Jr.

“Kennedy’s problem with coal video”

Robert Kennedy Jr. argues that coal’s external costs are enormous and the industry is bad for mining states.

And then this video: “Kennedy on energy alternatives“

Robert Kennedy Jr. cites other countries’ efforts as evidence that renewables are good for the U.S. economy.

Awesome!

While we in our tiny town of Dendron and Surry County, and the whole of Hampton Roads are in a fight to keep yet another coal plant from being built, it’s so encouraging to see videos like these.

Thank you Robert Kennedy Jr. for speaking out where others might be intimidated to do so; or drawn into the so called ‘promise’ of monetary compensation or the so called ‘promise’ of jobs that will be short-lived if at all, to look beyond all that, and truly see the real dangers that are far reaching.

We do need to go to renewable energy regardless if you believe in global warming or not. It just makes sense economically. And we need to take care of our planet; to provide a healthy future for our children and grandchildren.

Thanks Joe for the link!

No to coal in Surry (DailPress.com)

Old Dominion Electric Cooperative, which is seeking approval for a massive, coal-burning power plant in Surry County, serves fewer than 300,000 homes in Virginia. Those homes need a reliable source of power, but this plant would exact an environmental cost far out of scale to the number of people who would benefit.

Carbon dioxide: By the company’s public projections, the plant would discharge 14.6 million tons a year into the air. To put that in scale, based on EPA numbers, it’s equivalent to the annual output of 2.5 million average passenger cars.

• Mercury: ODEC’s projections say the plant would discharge at least 100 pounds of mercury. Many lakes, streams and rivers are already contaminated by dissipated mercury, and the more the state tests, the more warnings it issues about eating fish from contaminated waters, because mercury causes neurological damage and retardation. The Blackwater River in Surry and Isle of Wight is already contaminated.

• NOX emissions: Nitrogen oxide emissions are a major source of smog and haze, air pollution and acid rain. The plant would put 3,000 tons into the air yearly.

• Health effects: Human bodies pay the price for “clean coal.” The coal plant would mean more asthma attacks, more chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, more heart attacks, more deaths.

BOLD emphasis mine

So much more in this very well done DailyPress.com OP-Ed article: No to coal in Surry. Must read.

Thanks for the link Betsy.

EDIT: Here’s my comment that I posted on the article:

Excellent article. Thanks so much to whoever wrote it. When I think about living way less than a mile from the proposed Cypress Creek Power Station (“station” don’t you love how they try to get away from using the words coal plant?) it just makes me sick…just to think about it coming here to Dendron. ALL of Dendron will be in the ’stack shadow’ 0.6 to 1 mile from it. This will not only be a health hazard for all in Hampton Roads, but a major stress to the people of Dendron 24/7 – pollution, noise, light! Many are not thinking about all the negative impacts this coal plant will have on the tiny Town of Dendron — all they can see are dollar signs. I can understand that to some extent, I really can, especially in a depressed economy, however, the people of Dendron will have to live with this for a very long time-in their face! Wish those on the Surry Board of Supervisors would think about living less than ONE MILE from this thing. At the last Board of Supervisors meeting, there was mention that if the coal plant moved to Sussex County, then Sussex would get the benefits of having it instead of Surry. Well, having the coal plant in Sussex wouldn’t be a whole lot better (Sussex location no where near as close to a town), but it wouldn’t be 0.6 to 1 mile from their home, like it will be to us here in Dendron. As an old TechTV commercial spot was want to say, “Think about that!”

A President Breaks Hearts in Appalachia by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (washingtonpost.com)

A mountaintop coal mining site at Kayford Mountain in West Virginia. (By Jeff Gentner -- Associated Press)

If ever an issue deserved President Obama’s promise of change, this is it. Mining syndicates are detonating 2,500 tons of explosives each day — the equivalent of a Hiroshima bomb weekly — to blow up Appalachia’s mountains and extract sub-surface coal seams. They have demolished 500 mountains — encompassing about a million acres — buried hundreds of valley streams under tons of rubble, poisoned and uprooted countless communities, and caused widespread contamination to the region’s air and water. On this continent, only Appalachia’s rich woodlands survived the Pleistocene ice ages that turned the rest of North America into a treeless tundra. King Coal is now accomplishing what the glaciers could not — obliterating the hemisphere’s oldest, most biologically dense and diverse forests.

This is a travesty! And an excellent article. Must read.

It is hard to believe that this goes unchecked! No one should suffer to provide others with electricity. Coal plants have long been fueled by coal mining and now with Mountain Top Removal, they can do it so much more profitably. As an old friend of ours (RIP GaryB) used to say, “Follow the money trail.”

If ODEC is allowed to build the 1500 MW coal fired baseload plant in Dendron, Surry County, or even Sussex County, which will run 24/7 it will only add even more ‘fuel to the fire’ of mountain top removal.

This is not the first time that greed has destroyed parts of the mountain. Paradise Gone:

Paradise, Kentucky - Courtesy of OLD Blue Bus Blog

… What many folks don’t know is the story of Paradise and the Green River. The Green River flows through the heart of the Western Coal Field Region of Kentucky. The Green River starts in Lincoln County, just about in the center of Kentucky and ends about 300 river miles away at the confluence with the Ohio River. The river flows through Mammoth Cave National Park and drains the cave and surrounding area.

Starting in 1842, a series of four locks and dams were constructed along the Green River to facilitate barge traffic to the vast lignite coal fields, petroleum coke, and aluminum ore that were mined and produced along it’s banks. Muhlenberg County was at one time the largest coal producing county in North America and the Peabody Coal Company was, and still is, the largest coal company in the world. Peabody had several operations along Kentucky’s Green River, but it wasn’t Peabody that hauled away the town of Paradise.

Notice that Paradise is capitalized in [John] Prine’s lyrics. Yes, there was a town named Paradise along the Green River. Peabody didn’t directly haul the town away, although it is possible that their influence and political power had much more to do with it than the records indicate. No, the town of Paradise was submerged below the Green River Lake in 1969, when the Tennessee Valley Authority impounded the river behind a new dam to provide flood protection, electricity, and improved barge traffic to the coal fields….

It’s amazing what greedy Towns, Counties and States have done over time to facilitate and empower big business – like Mr. Peabody’s many operations along the Green River and whether directly or indirectly was the reason for the damming of the Green River and loss of the town of Paradise.

Renewable energy sources would be a much better way to do things that do not hurt people, destroy communities and ancient mountains in a one fell swoop — and as we see in this posting and these two articles — Mountain Top Removal is just the latest profitable way to do this! See iLoveMountains.org and my blog postings for more information on Mountain Top Removal and the Coal Plant connection.

Virginia doesn’t need to become one of Big Coal’s latest statistics if we stop both ends of the production to give the EPA, the USACE and other agencies time to reassess the impact of Mountain Top Removal and whether there needs to be any new Coal Plants built due to the massive impact on people (particularly children and those with illnesses), and the planet now and over time.

EPA relents, discloses list of high risk coal ash sites (KansasCity.com)

It is great to see that the EPA changed course on their very dangerous decision to hide/keep the information from those who most needed to know … the people living near these hazardous coal ash sites.

Tennessee Valley Coal Ash Spill Buries 400 Acres - image courtesy of NBC New York

Many may remember the story that came out just a few days before Christmas 2008 – just 6 months ago – when a dam/retaining wall ruptured (that was supposed to keep the hazardous toxic materials contained). The flash flood covered well over 300 ACRES with these hazardous materials. (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6). Great Christmas present for those who live/lived in the area and lost so much in this toxic disaster.

From the link #6 above at AppVoices.org:

Though the T.V.A. told residents of Harriman, TN that their drinking water was safe following the December 22nd spill, and backed up their claim with the results of water quality testing conducted at the Kingston water facility intake (a site six miles from the spill site, and approximately half a mile upstream of the ash flow on the Tennessee River), the results of preliminary tests conducted by the Upper Watauga Riverkeeper and partners from Appalachian State University indicate TVA’s data does not tell the whole story.

United Mountain Defense volunteers, who have been working with affected community members since the disaster occurred, have reported talking with several people who have become ill since the spill. Many residents reportedly drank potentially contaminated groundwater out of wells and springs for days following the spill.

This was not the first, and likely not the last time that these types of disasters will happen; both at coal plants like the one above, and in Mountain Top Removal areas – see my blog posting here and ILoveMountains.org for more information on the other end of this disastrous puzzle – Mountain Top Removal.

The 44 hazardous sites at Coal Plants that the EPA has finally disclosed? Here are just a few:

• 10 Duke Energy ponds at plants in Spencer, Eden, Terrell, Belmont, Walnut Cove and Mount Holly, N.C.
• 2 Progress Energy Carolinas ponds in Arden, N.C.
• 2 Kentucky Utilities ponds near Harrodsburg, Ky
• 3 Ghent, Ky.
• Louisville Gas & Electric pond in Louisville, Ky
• Georgia Power facility in Milledgeville, Ga.
• The large Little Blue Run Dam pond that holds waste from the First Energy Generation plant at Shippingport, Pa.
• Addiional: impoundments in Arizona, Indiana, Illinois, West Virginia, Ohio and Montana.
• More on the list

From the “EPA relents, discloses list of high-risk coal ash sites” article;

The Environmental Protection Agency on Monday released a list of 44 coal-fired power plant waste sites in 10 states with a high hazard potential, including 12 sites in North Carolina, seven in Kentucky and a large storage pond in Pennsylvania.

…

The EPA initially refused to disclose the location of the high-hazard sites to the public, saying it would share the information only with members of Congress and their staffs. Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., the chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, pressed the agency to release the list, saying the public had a right to know.

Much more in the article and a link to the entire list of the 44 hazardous coal ash sites is on the EPA.gov site here: Fact Sheet: Coal Combustion Residues (CCR) – Surface Impoundments with High Hazard Potential Ratings.

Now, tell me again why we should want ODEC to build a major 1,500MW Coal Fired Baseload Power Plant in Dendron, VA … VERY close to the water supply and residents of Dendron? When things like this can and do happen:

Torrential rains from Hurricane Floyd have resulted in widespread flooding in southeast Virginia. Flooding along the Blackwater River in Southampton County is extensive, and river stage is still rising at the streamgage operated by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) near the town of Franklin. The current river level exceeds the peak of record at the gage, which has been in operation for 55 years. Local residents note that the current flooding exceeds that of the large 1940 flood. Current discharge (streamflow) of the Blackwater River is estimated to be in excess of a 100-year flood (a discharge that has a 1 percent chance of occurring any year).

When Hurricane Floyd brought record flooding to southeast Virginia, the Blackwater River and Cypress Creek Swamp overflowed their banks with rushing water backed up from the Dismal Swamp. In Dendron, we were stuck and could not leave town for days because Rt 31 crosses the Cypress Creek Swamp on one end of town and the Blackwater River on the other end of town. Now just think about what could have potentially happened during that event if ODEC’s 1,500 MW coal fired baseload power plant had been in place during that time — with 1-2 Fly Ash landfills so close to Dendron residents’ homes and the town’s water supply.

Nor’easters like the one in October 2006 can also bring flooding to the region as noted in the Wikipedia article on the Blackwater River.

That’s two major flooding incidents along the Blackwater River in just 7 years including the 1999 Hurricane Floyd when Franklin was submerged under as much as 12 feet of water as the Blackwater River swelled to a new historical crest at 26.4 feet — during the same time that we were locked within the Town of Dendron for days due to the same flooding with no electricity and couldn’t drink our water and FEMA/Red Cross came in after the water receded to help our town by supplying water, ice, meals and other foodstuffs to get us by while we waited for electricity and our water supply to be deemed drinkable again.

Thanks Betsy for making me aware of the article on the EPA relenting and releasing the information on the high risk coal ash/fly ash sites.

Fly Ash Landfill(s) are part of the proposal by ODEC (Old Dominion Electic Cooperative) for Dendron at the Cypress Creek Coal Fired Baseload Power Plant … 1,500 MW … second largest in the State of Virginia! And we in Dendron would be living in the stack shadow…

On behalf of the undersigned, Sandakan concerned and well- meaning citizens.

“Over the past few decades, however, a series of studies has called these stereotypes into question. Among the surprising conclusions: the waste produced by coal plants is actually more radioactive than that generated by their nuclear counterparts. In fact, fly ash—a by-product from burning coal for power—contains up to 100 times more radiation than nuclear waste.

At issue is coal’s content of uranium and thorium, both radioactive elements. They occur in such trace amounts in natural, or “whole,” coal that they aren’t a problem. But when coal is burned into fly ash, uranium and thorium are concentrated at up to 10 times their original levels.

Fly ash uranium sometimes leaches into the soil and water surrounding a coal plant, affecting cropland and, in turn, food. People living within a “stack shadow”—the area within a half- to one-mile (0.8- to 1.6-kilometer) radius of a coal plant’s smokestacks—might then ingest small amounts of radiation. Fly ash is also disposed of in landfills and abandoned mines and quarries, posing a potential deadly risk to people living around those areas.”

As noted, Fly Ash Landfill or Landfills is/are part of the proposed ODEC power plant in Dendron. I find it difficult to believe that Dendron and Surry County would even consider another landfill in Dendron after the last proposal was denied.

AMA Report on Mercury emissions:

Mercury emissions

Mercury is a global pollutant that cycles in the environment, exchanging among air, soil, and water, and back again because of both natural phenomena and human activities. Volcanoes and deep sea vents are large natural contributors. Environmental mercury also is derived from the weathering or mining of rock containing Hg ore (ie, HgS or cinnabar) and from the incineration and burning of fossil fuels. Major man-made sources (or uses) of elemental Hg include coal-burning electric power plants; municipal, medical, and hazardous waste incinerators; commercial/industrial boilers; chlor-alkali plants; gold mining; cement production; and mercury-containing products (eg, thermometers, blood pressure monitors, lamps, batteries, electronic switches and devices). Although volcanoes and other natural sources release substantial amounts of elemental Hg into the environment, anthropogenic emission from coal-fired electric power-generating facilities, chlor-alkali production, waste incineration, and other industrial activities now account for approximately 70 percent of the 5,500 metric tons of Hg that are released into the earth’s atmosphere annually.7-9 Anthropogenic releases of Hg have substantially increased the entry of Hg into the environment; by some estimates by a factor of three to five times since pre-industrial times, and by another analysis, a 10-fold increase.10

In some parts of the world, man-made Hg emissions are increasing, but in this country emissions declined from about 220 tons in 1990 to 115 tons in 1999 because of new requirements on incinerators.11 Among U.S. industrial sources, coal-fired utility plants account for approximately 40 percent of this burden. These, and other plants that combust other fossil fuels (ie, petroleum, natural gas), account for about two-thirds of U.S. electricity generation, but are also a major source of air pollutants including Hg, as well as fine particulate matter, sulfur dioxide, and nitrogen oxides, which are regulated under the Clean Air Act. Two other potentially large sources of Hg are not well quantified; namely, mobile sources and chlor-alkali plants.12 The EPA has now promulgated regulations for all major sources of Hg emissions, although not to the same extent.

It has been busy around here this past week! I started this article days ago. Last night I quickly pulled together my comments and submitted them to the USACE (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers) as requested during the Scoping meeting on June 11th.

Please forgive any errors as I have posted it in the revised form that I submitted without corrections.

It is amazing how much you can write once you start going at it. I ended up with a four page PDF file that I submitted! It may or may not have been my best writing due to being under time pressure on it, but it is with heartfelt concern for our family and our friends and neighbors in the area that I am very concerned about this proposed coal plant:

I am very concerned about this proposed plant – which is an absolutely HUGE installation for the tiny town of Dendron.

The plant will be bigger than the actual downtown area of Dendron.

About twice the size of the Clover Plant, it will have two of everything; boilers, turbines, generators — the noise level during construction will be bad enough and the dust in the air and the trucks. And it will take nearly 5 years to complete!

We are a rural community. It is a peaceful, sleepy town and we love it. There is farmland and crops growing all around the town and the proposed area for the plant. There are other places that are not so close to a town to build this size of a project.

Many of us have gardens where we grow vegetables for our use to save money and be more healthy. Some of us also have livestock; chickens for eggs and/or meat.

There are some of us that are very ill and should not live near such a plant. One person that fits this description is my hubby who has Lyme Disease and many associated problems with that, in addition also believed to be because of the Lyme Disease, he has a paralyzed right side diaphragm. This means that he only gets 1/2 the normal oxygen he would have if both sides were working properly.

In addition, he has an oxygen concentrator in the home to compensate for this problem and is on it at least 1/2 of every 24 hr day. It only filters out nitrogen in order to concentrate the oxygen it delivers. It does not filter anything else out from the ambient air used in the process. We are very concerned about the Fly Ash, and all the poisons (mercury, lead, sulfur dioxide, etc.) that will be spewing from the two 600 FT! stacks only about a few city blocks from our home.

Not to mention that the entire Surry County school complex; elementary school, middle school and high school is only 3 miles away! That is 10 times closer than children should be from a plant according to health professionals who have done studies in the issues with children and health issues they exhibit living closer than 30 miles from coal plants due to the toxic pollution that will become part of this area.

As noted in many reports, conventional and toxic air pollutants will decrease air quality, increasing rates of asthma, heart attacks, emphysema, and cancer, and will negatively impact the cognitive development of children in the vicinity and will further burden streams and rivers already struggling under excessive loads of mercury and other pollutants. Toxic air pollutants, such as mercury and dioxin, will negatively affect the livestock of the farmers in the vicinity.

I think it might be a very good idea to look at the complaints that York County has had to deal with because of the Fly Ash from the plant there as well and their community is not as close as it would be for Dendron. I have heard from residents in the Williamsburg, VA area that they have friends that live in York County who have complained bitterly about the Fly Ash. And that’s a much smaller facility.

From what I understand, there was a landfill that had been proposed by these same owners of the property here in Dendron, where the plant is proposed to be built, that was denied just a few years ago by the EPA, USACE, or another agency. Maybe you could look into that? Seems that if one ‘landfill’ was denied in this farmland/wetland area, then one or two more ‘landfills” with Fly Ash in them — with at least as many pollutants, if not more, should be denied as well?

On top of all that, this plant will need water intake and discharge infrastructure connecting not very far along the James River from where the Dominion Virginia Power Nuclear Plant is located. What will be the additional impact on the local fish and shellfish populations? Plus, the 15 MILES of piping and eminent domain requirements on property owners just to get to and from the James River.

I think that Surry/Dendron residents and property owners already have enough risk with the nuclear plant here in Surry County. And that plant is much, much cleaner (as long as there are no leaks) than a Coal Plant could ever be.

Do we really need two power plants in Surry County? Especially when the Coal Plant will the second largest in the state of Virginia! Right on top of the Town of Dendron!

And what about the impact of the pollutants on the Blackwater River and Cypress Swamp? They say they will make some ‘pretty’ man made ‘natural areas’ to replace what they mess up, but they are never the same as truly natural ones. Plus, there are some species that are already unique to the area and one is actually protected if I remember correctly.

The new plant will get new railroad spurs and off-loading of the coal which will be noisy and dirty – 24/7! And will also mean that the highway near the plant will need to be expanded to meet the facility’s requirements. Which they apparently don’t want to talk about.

At least one and likely two Fly ash landfills will be on the property. Disposal will have to be allowed for, either in the form of on-site fly ash dumps and slurry ponds, and/or a loading facility for trucks and/or trains to take the fly ash away from the plant.

The water table is only 3-4 feet down in this area and all interconnected in this area apparently.

There is documentation of studies that state outright that in time, all concrete lined landfills will leak. And we are talking about the water table being too close to allow that to happen. And what will happen to these ‘Fly Ash landfills’ when we have hurricanes like Floyd and then Dennis back to back, that backed up the Dismal Swamp up the Blackwater River and the Cypress Swamp. We couldn’t even get out of town for days because of the flooding from either end of town on Rt 31. The 300 acres covered in this Fly Ash in Tennessee come to mind and the cleanup project that will never truly clean it up.

We as land owners in the Town of Dendron will have no relief from the this plant as it will be generating electricity 24-7. Traffic, light pollution, chemical and air pollution, noise and all right out “back door.”

The proposed plant will have a major impact on Surry County and the town of Dendron. And most of it will not be good, especially for Dendron. There is no way that it will leave the rural character of this area in tact. And they had to move the plant even closer to the Town of Dendron’s residents than originally noted because to how close this plant will be to the wetlands.

This plant will make living in the area very unattractive, and because it will be industrial in nature; it will invite more industrial plants or industrial support companies to the area. It will not promote the good, clean types of businesses that would bring in other clean types of businesses. And those clean businesses — which only recently would even have been able to start thinking of moving to Dendron because the sewer has only recently been installed in Dendron — will not want to come here because of the industrial nature this this plant. Prior to the sewer being installed, no new septic tanks could be located in Dendron due to the fact that the ground doesn’t perk here.

The sleepy little town will have even more traffic as new highway infrastructure will bring more traffic to and through our little town and this in addition to the 24-7 operation that will disturb the peace and quiet that the residents cherish. Constant traffic from coal trucks and trains, and trucks and trains taking care of fly ash disposal, will add fugitive emissions to the atmosphere, limiting people’s ability to spend time outdoors and keep their homes clean and as noted earlier, make growing vegetable gardens and livestock hazardous.

The Fly Ash landfills will be lined, but what about any slurry ponds? The area will be exposed to the dangers of deadly fly ash spills such as that which occurred in Kingsport TN at Christmas 2008.

Our property values will likely diminish and decline. And to tell the truth, I am sure that many of these same impacts would be experienced if the proposed power plant is relocated to Sussex County which is the back up site location, but at least they would not be backed right up to two important wetlands and right up to the back of our tiny little town.

I am very concerned that ODEC is pushing this very hard; particularly with the churches, the Surry Board of Supervisors, etc. and they are seeing dollar signs instead of danger!

This proposed plant will have a major impact in not just Dendron and Surry County but in the entire region.

Some of the areas of concern as noted above will be:

Additional atmospheric ozone (and low level ozone that a NASA report noted that has adverse affects on crops and children).

Acid rain that will negatively effect the flora and fauna in nearby parks and in the wild and scenic areas in all of Hampton Roads.

Mercury, which has already been a problem and was just beginning to get better in the Chesapeake and associated rivers will further burden already struggling streams and rivers, which Virginia DEQ has already placed off limits to fishermen because of excess mercury that has bio-accumulated in fish populations. One of which is parts of the Blackwater River.

As we love to go camping and hiking in the mountains we are also VERY sensitive to what is happening to the mountain tops in Appalachia! This plant’s appetite for coal will contribute tremendously to the dangerous and devastating practice of mountaintop removal mining. This process is devastating the natural beauty and long-term viability of the Appalachian region. And this problem is beginning to be addressed by the Federal Government in a favorable manner, finally! At least in small steps. We would not want our area to be one of the fodder regions for this coal to be dumped and burned!

I would suggest that this plant be shelved entirely until more studies can be completed by federal and state agencies that are already concerned that the impact is much greater than they previously thought with coal plants on the environment. Particularly so close to a town. Give them time to get these studies done before allowing more coal plants to be built. And it may also give time for power companies to be able to economically look at more safe, and clean energy solutions as these become more widely used and the R&D is paid for so the price will be more reasonable.

In addition, I believe that ODEC would get much further if they would look internally to see what way they can further encourage conservation and promoting further breaks to those who are able to cut back on their energy use through energy efficient appliances, etc. Rather than jumping in to get a plant built before more hefty regulations are put in place. And they know it’s coming or they wouldn’t be pushing as hard as they are. From what I have read, that would do as much if not more and they wouldn’t need a plant when they claim if they did this. It likely would save them quite a bit of money in the long run.

I personally do not think the current owners or ODEC are being considerate neighbors of the Town of Dendron. I almost threw up when I saw how close that plant will be and how big it will be so close to our homes!

Thank you for your time.

I surely hope that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers takes a really hard look at this. They can prevent this from happening.

I think that if nothing else comes out of this, at least I started getting involved locally on issues that affect Dendron, Surry County, Virginia, as well as Coal Plants and the mountains we love so much.

I did get up to talk for a couple minutes at the meeting (my heart was pounding as I am not a public speaker — this was not an easy thing to do).

I am very concerned about this Coal Plant being so close to our home. With my Jim having Lyme Disease and fighting with that for the last 2 years, and finding out in August 2008 that he has only half his lung capacity due to his right side diaphragm being paralyzed (apparently can happen with Lyme Disease sometimes), and is on oxygen half the time. I felt it was important to make them aware that there are folks out there like us, and having this Coal Plant ‘in our backyard’ will be detrimental to his health and make life harder than ever for him him/us and likely others in Dendron as well.

Having an oxygen concentrator in the home is great, but one has to be careful what one sprays or cleans the house with when it’s running and be very concerned about what is in the air that is being put through the concentrator because it pulls normal room air through the concentrator. The concentrator has zeolite in it which adsorbs the nitrogen in the air. Nothing else. Just the nitrogen. Having other contaminants in the air will not be filtered.

Anyway, the meeting was interesting. I am glad they allowed citizens to speak. I surely hope they listen to those who will be adversely affected by this Coal Plant. I am particularly concerned about the children in the schools only 3 miles away (according to my reading, that should be 30 miles! Even half that distance would be an issue).

One of the citizens left some articles regarding the EPA relooking the danger levels of contaminants from Coal Plants. I hope the Town of Dendron and County of Surry will wait to see what happens with that before making any kind of decision.

And I hope the Supervisors get a ‘truly’ unbiased consultant. (I will be watching who they choose as many others will be). Much thanks to the Supervisor who suggested this. I am sure I will know who the man was in time. He was on the other side of the table/room from where I was sitting.

Very enlightening meeting.