Nov 25 - McClatchy-Tribune Regional News - Allison T. Williams Daily Press, Newport News, Va.


More than 40 people urged county planners Monday to vote against a controversial proposal to build what would be the state's largest coal-fueled power plant in the tiny town of Dendron.

About 200 people packed the government chamber -- and dozens more stood in the hall outside the room -- during the Surry County Planning Commission's public hearing on nine rezoning and permitting applications filed by Old Dominion Electric Cooperative.

The company wants to build a $6 billion, 1,500-megawatt plant on about 1,500 acres in and around the rural town by 2016. After the 3 1/2 -hour hearing, the Planning Commission delayed voting until its Dec. 14 meeting.

If the project is recommended by the Planning Commission, it would still have to be approved by the county's Board of Supervisors and the Dendron Town Council. The project also has to receive more than 50 permits from various agencies, including the Army Corps of Engineers and state Department of Environmental Quality.

Although a handful of speakers supported Old Dominion's requests, most said the coal-fueled power plant would produce myriad health problems for people living within 50 miles of Surry, and that it would be detrimental to the environment. The public hearing drew environmentalists and college students from across the state.

"I question how many jobs will be created and how many of those will be going to Surry County residents," said Surry resident Melanie Williamson. "I think it is a short-sighted project and that Surry County will be shooting itself in the foot if they go ahead with this plant."

Several speakers urged the Planning Commission to have Old Dominion foot the bill for an independent, third-party study on the project's economic and environmental impact.

"You are in complete control of this process ... and you need the facts," said Isle of Wight Supervisor Stan Clark, who opposed the project during his recent unsuccessful campaign against Del. William K. Barlow. "If they (Old Dominion) are the good neighbors they say they are, they will fully fund any independent study you want."

Debate over the coal plant has spread beyond Hampton Roads. The Washington-based Physicians for Social Responsibility released a report last week that ties the coal industry to serious health risks.

Kristen Welker-Hood, the group's director of environment and health, said in an interview Monday that the mining, transport and burning of coal contributes to heart disease, cancer, stroke and other leading causes of death.

Health-care costs associated with the plant would easily exceed billions of dollars, she said. Her organization is lobbying to prevent the construction of any new coal plants.

About 10 speakers supported the electric cooperative's application, saying the project would pump millions in tax revenue into town and county coffers and bring much-needed jobs to the county.

"You can't make something out of nothing, and Dendron has nothing," Surry resident Henry Judkins said.

"We need this to jump-start our economy."

Staff writer Cory Nealon contributed to this report.

What's next?

The Surry Planning Commission is expected to vote Dec. 14 on rezoning and conditional-use permit applications to build a coal-fueled power plant in Dendron

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