The Virginian-Pilot
©
SURRY
The debate over a coal-fired energy plant in the center of Surry County continued Thursday with a standing-room-only crowd at the Board of Supervisors meeting.
The Dendron Town Council on Monday approved rezonings and a conditional use permit for the Cypress Creek Power Station, paving the way for the state's largest coal-fired energy plant to be located in the tiny town.
Old Dominion Electric Cooperative wants to build the $4 billion plant - the price has come down since it was first proposed - on about 1,600 acres.
On Thursday, the Surry County Board of Supervisors followed Dendron's example and approved the necessary changes to the county's comprehensive plan, zoning changes and a conditional use permit to allow for the plant.
Two parcels would be in Surry County - the landfill, where the coal ash would be stored, and the water intake system from the James River. The river water would cool the 1,500-megawatt plant, expected to power 375,000 homes.
ODEC hopes to open the plant in 2016.
The Surry County portion of the project represents only 18 percent of the total land use, planning director Rhonda Mack told the supervisors Thursday.
The speakers at the public hearing were almost evenly divided among those who want the plant for the jobs and tax revenue it could provide, and the opponents who fear it could harm the health of the community. The zoning changes are from agricultural/residential to industrial.
Just before the meeting, the Chesapeake Bay Foundation issued a press release opposing the facility.
In nearby Sussex County, both the planning commission and the Board of Supervisors approved zoning changes and a conditional use permit to allow ODEC to build the plant in rural Sussex.
C. Eric Fly, chairman of the Board of Supervisors, said after the meeting that only eight people spoke opposing the plant and, of that number, only one was a local resident.
Linda McNatt, (757) 222-5561, linda.mcnatt@pilotonline.com
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Power Plant
"C. Eric Fly, chairman of the Board of Supervisors, said after the meeting that only eight people spoke opposing the plant and, of that number, only one was a local resident." The beauty of positioning the proposed plant in Sussex on its border with Prince George is that most of the folks living within a three-mile radius of the plant are not "local residents" meaning they don't live in Sussex proper. The affected Prince George residents don't even know yet about the monster that is looming over their shoulder and that they are downwind. They and their children are at the greatest danger of the effects of the neuro-toxic fallout while Sussex laughs all the way to the bank.
WHY
Are we building a COAL plan instead of a NUCLEAR plant, that provides CLEAN energy?
only one
Only eight people spoke opposing the plant and, of that number, only one was a local resident. At that rate, 72 opposed with nine being local residents or 104 opposed with only 13 being local local residents. The non-local opposition could have talked all night.
I would be ok with coal except for...
The federal exemption for the tons of hazardous flyash that allows the power industry to dispose of it like it was fill dirt. Local governments don't have a clue and would let any developer and two-bit consultant talk them in to filling in wetlands with their toxic leaching goo! Don't forget about the golf course in Chesapeake that will eventually have to undergo a CERCLA cleanup at the taxpayer's expense!
Surry county is one of the last unspoiled areas near Tidewater and it's a shame to put in a toxic belching coal plant for a few low tech jobs. They don't even need the power, it's for DC and Maryland. I say build it up North NIMBY!
Good Job Supervisors
You didn't let the Chicken Littles and their Junk Science roll over your residents. You showed Leadership.
Now, perhaps, Surry residents can have quality jobs that require real skills instead of having to ride the boat to clean the latte' sipping environmentalist's homes in Williamsburg. (Don't forget to ride in the rear of the boat when you go to Their Williamsburg)
What a joke
It is unbelievable to me how so many people can be so hypocritical. On one hand people complain about jobs, dependency on foreign oil; however, when there is an opportunity to create local jobs with a local company that uses domestic resources (the most abundant this country has) and yet citizens find any excuse to delay or stall.
The environmentalists fill the citizens’ head with half-truths and flat out lies about coal power and get everyone fired up over nothing. Over 50% of the nation’s energy is produced from coal yet you don't see half the country walking the streets in gas masks. So the scare tactics and fear mongering is mostly unfounded and untrue. The bottom line is coal is the most abundant and efficient natural resource this country has to produce clean and affordable energy (since the environmentalists have blocked construction of the CLEANEST energy source; nuclear power). So if you don't like coal power and don't support it, call your representative and urge them to pass the Cap and Trade Bill to raise the cost of energy and kill the coal industry once and for all so the inefficient wind farms can become more economically viable; just don't complain when yo
Coal is not the answer
The Dendron plant is not a very good move in so many ways. Yes it will provide a cheap source of energy (mainly for users outside if our region). Yes, it will provide several thousand jobs during it's construction (but how many will be from the local workforce, and they are temporary). And, yes it will provide about 225 permanent positions. But look at the cost:
Air quality for the entire region will suffer. It could be the single item that puts Hampton Roads into the same category as many cities north of here. Expect more expensive gas and higher emissions testing for your car (your car - not the coal plants car). It has been proven over and over that the pollution emitted into the air does, in fact, end up in local waterways. There will be an adverse affect on local fish and shellfish. Fly ash is a huge environmental mess to deal with. Look at what happened in Tennessee last year. Finally, anyone with a conscience can't possibly be happy with the coal industries methods of mountain top removal. It is a huge mess and a very short sighted approach to todays energy needs.
Welcome to Surrey County. Did you bring your breathing mask?
Surrey.. Hack.. Hack.. Cough.. Cough.. County is a great... hack... place to... cough... live.
Wanna' go look at our fly ash dump?
No voice, no determination
Well, I was waiting to see what would happen next. It looks like the folks in Surry either want the plant or could not be bothered to fight against it in force.
I had a feeling that the sheep up there would do whatever the Board told them to do. You get what you ask for. What a shame.
We did show up. And we were
We did show up. And we were IGNORED.