MEDIA RELEASE www.WiseEnergyForVirginia.org
November 21, 2011
Momentum Builds in Opposition to ODEC Coal Plant Back-to-Back Victories for Local Residents in Hampton Roads
Contact:
Whitney Byrd, WEFV Coalition Coordinator
703-928-5688
Momentum against Old Dominion Electric Cooperative’s plans for a massive coal-fired power plant in Hampton Roads is building. In the latest setback for the power company, a state judge has ruled in favor of four local citizens and invalidated the town of Dendron’s zoning approval for the project.
Late on Friday, Surry County Circuit Judge Sam Campbell ruled that the zoning for the power plant is void, and agreed with the plaintiffs’ position that ODEC had rushed the approvals through and that the town’s public notice violated Virginia law. The court ruled that Dendron had failed to provide the public with fair notice. The citizens—Michael Drewry, Helen Eggleston, John Pond and Willie Richardson, Jr.—were represented by Drewry. (For a copy of the judge’s opinion, contact Drewry at 757-899-0360, Michael_Drewry@yahoo.com)
Opposition has been steadily building against the plant for months. This legal victory comes in the same week that the Isle of Wight Board of Supervisors passed a resolution opposing the 1,500-megawatt coal plant, which would be upwind of the county. In addition, the town of Surry and health groups such as the Norfolk-based Consortium for Child and Infant Health, the Virginia Asthma Coalition and the American Lung Association have officially opposed the proposal, as have a host of Hampton Roads citizen groups and conservation organizations.
In light of this growing opposition, the Wise Energy for Virginia Coalition calls on ODEC to heed the writing on the wall, stop wasting its members’ money and jeopardizing citizen’s health, and make the switch to energy efficiency and other clean sources to meet its members’ electricity needs.
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The mission of the Wise Energy for Virginia Coalition is to stop Old Dominion Electric Cooperative’s proposed coal-burning power plant in Surry County and turn Virginia toward a cleaner, sustainable energy future. The coalition includes Southern Appalachian Mountain Stewards, Appalachian Voices, Chesapeake Climate Action Network, Sierra Club and Southern Environmental Law Center, and works in partnership with numerous other organizations.
