Power plant opponents air their concerns at Department of Environmental Quality hearing

ST. PAUL, Va. – The jobs and financial boost a proposed $1.8 billion coal-fired power plant would bring Wise County are not worth destroying people’s health and the environment, foes of the project told the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality at a Tuesday night public hearing.

More than 100 people attended the second day of the DEQ hearing on Dominion Virginia Power’s permit application to build a coal-fired power plant in St. Paul to supply electricity for residents in other parts of Virginia. Unlike Monday’s public hearing, the opponents outnumbered the supporters.

Boosters of the Virginia City Hybrid Energy Center signed up early for the Monday night session and time expired before most of those who oppose the plant could have their say.

Opponents had to wait a day, but they voiced their opinions on Tuesday night. Most urged the DEQ to look at studies that indicate living near a coal-fired plant causes premature deaths and leads to increased cases of heart attack, stroke and breathing problems such as asthma.

Beth Bingman, a Wise County resident, said the hearing is supposed to focus on air quality associated with the proposed plant, but she said speakers Monday night focuses mainly on the economic benefits of the facility.

Supporters tout the facility, saying it will create more than 300 coal mining jobs because the plant must burn Virginia coal. The facility will be Wise County’s largest tax base and will provide up to $6 million in additional revenue to the county each year, supporters say.

The proposed facility is designed to burn waste coal or "gob piles" of useless coal that has piled up over the years. Bingman said burning gob piles won’t clean up the environment as Dominion and its supporters claim. Gob piles burn at a lower temperature so power plants must burn more of the waste coal to equal the BTUs produced by the burning of regular coal, she said.

"We’ll have twice as many trucks coming through St. Paul and Coeburn," she said.

Stephens resident Kathy Selvage said the decision the DEQ makes on the power plant permit will affect the region for the next five decades. She said it is difficult for those who oppose the plant to say what must be said in the three minutes allotted for each speaker at the public hearing.

"We spend more time talking about who we are going to marry, and we can get out of that," she said.

The 70 pounds of mercury the plant is expected to emit each year harms children, especially infants in the developmental stages, she said.

"Whose children are you willing to offer as a sacrificial lamb to the energy giants?" Selvage asked.

Denise Peterson of Washington County said her community has many children who suffer from asthma. Pollution released by the plant will make it worse, she said.

"There is no question the plant will add tons and tons of pollutants to our environment," said Amelia Pickering, who lives five miles from the proposed plant. "A coal-burning power plant is not a step forward; it’s a giant step backwards."

Pickering warned that the recent court challenges and changes in the federal government that deal with carbon dioxide emissions could make the plant obsolete before it’s completed in 2012.

Bill McCabe asked the DEQ to think about who is supporting the plant. There is a big difference between those who speak for dollars and those who speak for health, he said.

McCabe said Dominion’s plan for the plant is not fully developed.

"They can’t even say they won’t burn mountaintop removal coal," he said. "They can’t do that because they don’t know.

Walter Crouse said the plant will pollute the region’s air and water. He also said the company’s prediction of 1,200 jobs will have little impact on Wise County since most will be filled from outside the area. The 75 full-time plant workers will live in Washington County, he said.

"Their salaries will go home," Crouse said.

Some power plant supporters also spoke Tuesday night, and as was the case Monday night, nearly all were involved in the coal business or associated with the government.

Jonathan Belcher, head of the Virginia Coalfield Economic Development Authority, said energy will be the next major economic giant similar to the automobile industry years ago. He also said Dominion’s $1.8 million investment totals more than all combined investments in the region for several decades.

"This plant represents the continued development of clean-coal technology," said Mike Wells of Big Stone Gap. "We need the power plant, and we need the jobs."

Phillip Cooper disagreed.

"I’m more concerned for people than money," Cooper said. "Dominion will do whatever it takes to make money off the blood of the people."

The DEQ holds a continuation of the public hearing on Feb. 19 in Richmond.

kstill@bristolnews.com | (276) 679-1338