"The Southern Environmental Law Center and its co-petitioners fail to recognize that state officials based their decisions to permit the plant on sound science," said Americans for Balanced Energy Choices Executive Director Joe Lucas. "The rhetoric used to incite unwarranted fear among local residents concerning health issues and phantom environmental impacts are not supported by facts. Additionally, these lawsuits do nothing to advance realistic solutions to meeting the growing electricity demands in Virginia."
Lucas said that the coal plant will benefit those in the area.
"Our state needs clean, affordable and reliable electricity, and the community needs the stable, high-paying jobs that will improve the quality of life in Wise County," Lucas said, "The plant also will double the community's economic output, and that means tax revenue and better services for area citizens."
ABEC claims the power station will be a model of modern environmental controls and among the cleanest fossil-fuel electric generation plants in the country, using advanced technology, combined with efficient emissions controls, to minimize the overall impact to air, water and land resources.
Additionally, the company and experts from Virginia Tech are exploring ways to store carbon dioxide emissions from the plant in nearby, previously unusable coal seams.
SELC claims the company's plans include little more than setting aside "adequate space for the future deployment of such technology," according to its application.
In a written statement, Dominion said, "This is the most thoroughly considered and strictest air permit in the history of the commonwealth, and we are confident it will be upheld in the courts."
"Each new power plant using advanced clean coal technologies moves forward the reality of near zero emissions from coal-fueled power plants," Lucas said, "That's good for Wise County, Virginia and the environment."
The Virginia City Hybrid Energy Center received support from the General Assembly and is incorporated into Virginia Governor Tim Kaine's "Virginia Energy Plan." It is designed to use a wide range of fuels available in the region, including Virginia coal, waste coal and renewable biomass (organic material from plants and animals).
ABCE claims the location of the Virginia City Power Plant is ideal because of the available coal resources, skilled work force, and the potential to store carbon dioxide emissions.
The Wise County facility is one of several propososed old-style coal plants in the Southeast that SELC is fighting. SELC claims the four plants (others are in North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia) would emit some 30 million tons of carbon dioxide each year, roughly the equivalent of pollution from 2 million cars.
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I just love it when a crazy radical group tries hijacking the government
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I also like how this article barely skims the surface of the topic. Why does SELC feel that Dominion is obstructing the Commerce Clause? Hm, is it maybe because they are stealing the exact same argument from California? Summary: Clean Air Act + Commerce Clause = Control over Energy, seem a bit odd? (They argue that the commerce clause gives them the right to regulate a car's exhaust and since, according to them, the CO2 which is emitted from a car is in violation with the Clean Air Act they can regulate the amount of CO2 emissions from a car. How do they connect cars to power plants?? Well, if they are allowed to regulate cars' emissions why not power plants?)
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However, the EPA refuses to regulate CO2 and other greenhouse gases because "(1) the Act (Clean Air Act) does not authorize it to issue mandatory regulations to address global climate change, and (2) even if it had the authority to set greenhouse gas emission standards, it would have been unwise to do so because a causal link between greenhouse gases and the increase in global surface air temperatures was not un-equivocally established." So, there ya go SELC, stop wasting our time and stop attacking our country's energy sector.
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" 'What dust we raise,' said the fly upon the chariot wheel" - Aesop
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Without coal we would not be able live like we normally do.51% of America's energy comes from coal.Without coal thousands of people would be out of work. I love the enviroment, but I know that without the use of coal, our country would have lost a large amount of money, energy, and most of all the way we live.Don't put down on coal. It helps you more than you know. Megan Minor,age 13
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