Chesterfield Supervisors Shirk Responsibility to Prevent Local Pollution

Officials ignore residents’ demands for a hearing on the proposed Dominion gas plant

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

September 25, 2024

CONTACT:

Glen Besa, 804-387-6001, glenbesa@gmail.com

Images from today’s rally and Supervisors meeting can be found here.

Chesterfield Supervisors Shirk Responsibility to Prevent Local Pollution

Officials ignore residents’ demands for a hearing on the proposed Dominion gas plant

Chesterfield, VA - More than 50 Chesterfield residents and advocates rallied outside the Chesterfield County Board of Supervisors meeting to demand local officials hold a hearing on Dominion Energy’s proposed gas plant. During the meeting, county officials failed to answer, or acknowledge the request, which was submitted via a formal letter at the August 28th Supervisors’ meeting and has been a local rallying cry for months.

"An ordinary resident who wants to build an oversized garage in their backyard needs to go through the permit and hearing process, but Dominion gets a free pass to build a massive, polluting gas plant in our backyard. That's just not fair,” said Glen Besa, Board Chair of Friends of Chesterfield and a Chesterfield resident.

“Building a new gas plant will shackle our region to fossil fuel dependence for decades to come. As the climate emergency escalates, this outdated approach fails to recognize a powerful shift: consumers, homeowners, and businesses are increasingly demanding renewable energy solutions,” said Danny Castillo, a local Chesterfield resident.

Strong opposition to the plant’s proposed location at the existing Chesterfield Power Station continues because of the decades of cumulative air pollution and health hazards area residents have endured. Today, the Southern Environmental Law Center, on behalf of the Chesterfield County Branch of the NAACP, sent a letter to the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) requesting Dominion provide more accurate air monitoring of the plant’s impacted area. 

In response to county leaders' continued refusal to hear from residents, Friends of Chesterfield will host a ‘People’s Hearing’ on Tuesday, October 29th. Members of the public are invited to participate in the event, which will be held in Chesterfield County. Learn more and RSVP here.  

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Friends of Chesterfield is a community-based group in Chesterfield County dedicated to bringing residents together around the issues that impact our lives. Friends of Chesterfield was formed in 2023 in response to Dominion Energy’s proposed 1000-megawatt methane gas power plant.