Published: March 21, 2008 10:31 pm      

Air Pollution Control Board takes over permitting process for plant

LEBANON, Va. — News that the Virginia Air Pollution Control Board has decided to get involved in the permitting process for Dominion Virginia Power’s proposed coal-fired power plant in Wise County put a damper on a bright spring day in Southwest Virginia, according to State Senator Phillip P. Puckett, D-Russell.

“We’re disappointed that the Air Pollution Board has taken the permitting process for the Wise County plant out of the Department of Environmental Quality’s hands, and especially at such a late date,” Puckett said. “As we slow down the process, we run the risk of losing it all together.

“The thing that concerns me most about this development is that the people who are adamantly opposed to this plant are not our people,” Puckett said. “Although we are diversifying our economy, we still depend on coal and we have depended on coal for years. We’ve got some serious issues here, and that plant would help resolve some of those issues.”

The Associated Press reported Friday that Air Pollution Control Board member Vivian Thompson of Charlottesville stated that the DEQ’s proposed limits for pollutants “were not stringent enough.” The AP reported that the board planned to take the permit-granting powers from the DEQ.

“I don’t know what we’ll do,” Puckett said of the permitting process. “We have a chance here to move forward on clean coal technology. If we have to develop a zero tolerance plant, it will cause energy prices to soar. We’re already having major problems as a result of high energy costs.”

While many business, community, educational and political leaders of southwestern Virginia have joined together to support the Dominion Virginia Power’s Wise project, the plant has faced opposition from environmentalists and other groups, according to the AP report.

“We’ve got to make this work,” Puckett said. He said that engineers associated with Virginia Tech have done extensive research on clean coal technology and that research will help build the cleaner coal-fired plants of the future. “Coal already supplies more than half the energy needs of this nation, and the demand for energy grows every year,” he said.

“This is frustrating to me because good people do not understand what we’re trying to do,” Puckett said. “We have to fight hard for the people we serve. We live here. We believe in protecting our environment too. We have good, solid people here. We’re elected to serve the people, and an appointed board doesn’t have to answer to the people in the same way that we do.”

Puckett repeated some advice he got from his father. “My dad used to say: ‘Work hard for what you believe in. Everything may not turn out exactly like you hoped it would, but good things will happen,” Puckett said. “We have a great process in this country and I believe it works to benefit the people.”

Puckett expressed his hope that the situation can be resolved.

— Contact Bill Archer at barcher@bdtonline.com