Gov. Kaine's Appointments Could Weigh In On Coal Plant Decision

A compromise bill approved earlier this year would allow two additional Air Pollution Control Board members appointed by the governor to cast votes on a controversial coal-fired power plant proposed for Wise County, Va.

The additional members, who will be appointed by Gov. Tim Kaine, could have an immediate impact since the current air board decided in a 3-2 vote earlier this month to take the permitting responsibility for Dominion Virginia Power’s proposed $1.8 billion power plant from the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality.

However, the additional members would not be a factor if the air board approves or denies the permit prior to the July appointment of the new members.

The bill – a hybrid of an unsuccessful measure drafted by Sen. Phillip Puckett, D-Lebanon, that would have taken permitting power from the State Air Pollution Control Board – increases the citizen board’s membership.

"The new people get to vote on it," David Larimer, Puckett’s legislative aide, said Tuesday.

Larimer said the new law has a provision that allows the new seven-member board that would be in place in July to vote on any permit the air board takes over after Jan. 1 of this year.

Larimer also said Puckett believes current board members will give Dominion’s permit a fair hearing as well.

Cale Jaffe, a lawyer with the Southern Environmental Law Center, which is opposed to the plant, agrees that the wording in the compromise law gives the additional members a vote on the permit.

"This issue started with a bill in the 2007 session that would have abolished the air board altogether," Jaffe said. "We were successful in defeating that bill."

The issue arose again this session when lawmakers proposed the bill, which Jaffe says would have "eviscerated the board" by taking away its permitting power. The outcry against the measure led to the compromise, Jaffe said.

"The compromise bill kept the board in place and kept its authority over permits," Jaffe said.

The statute also outlines the procedures for circumstances in which the air board should take permitting power from the DEQ, he said. The measure spells out that the air board can take charge of a permit if it receives 25 or more requests for public hearings or public requests for the board to take permitting power, he said.

Thousands have voiced their opinions on the Dominion plant, he added.

"They [air board] are doing exactly what the General Assembly intended," Jaffe said.

The bill has its limits on conflict of interest, Jaffe said. No members of the air board may derive a significant portion of their income from the permit applicant, he said.

"The issue is squarely in the governor’s hands," Jaffe said. "If he appoints members who will rubberstamp the permit without a thorough review, it will be read as his decision to push that plant through without full consideration."

Appointing moderate and reasonable people with the proper experience would show that the governor has made sure Dominion does not get a free pass, Jaffe said.

The majority on the air board asked Dominion and the DEQ for more information on the company’s Virginia City Hybrid Energy Center before a decision is rendered on the permit. The company pledged to provide all answers the board wants, but also warned that delays would raise plant costs.

The plant would burn Virginia coal and waste coal and would bring about 1,200 jobs, most lasting only during the construction phase.

Opponents cite health risks associated with plant emissions, while those in favor point to the economic benefits the plant could bring to Wise County and the coal industry.

The State Corporation Commission is also slated to act on a construction permit next month and commission staff and the Virginia Attorney General’s office recommend approval.

It is not known when the air board will act on the permit or if action will be taken prior to the appointment of the new board members.

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