Chesterfield residents against proposed Dominion gas plant file appeal with county

CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) — A group of Chesterfield County residents is continuing to fight back against a gas plant proposed by Dominion Energy by filing an appeal with the county’s Board of Zoning Appeals.

On Monday June 24, Friends of Chesterfield challenged the county’s actions in response to Dominion Energy’s plans to build its Chesterfield Energy Reliability Center.

“County leaders have an obligation to listen to our concerns about this dirty gas plant and the impact it will have on our health and our power bills,” said Glen Besa, chairman of Friends of Chesterfield.

The 16-page document specifically refers to the May 24 letter provided to Besa through a public records request as the main point of contention.

In the letter sent to Dominion Energy on May 24, Deputy County Administrator Jesse Smith says Dominion’s proposed facility on 500 Coxendale Road is consistent with local ordinances and that Dominion is “not required to sign an attached suitability form and have not done so in the past,” according to the letter.

A Virginia Department of Environmental Quality spokesperson also provided clarity in a statement sent to 8News:

DEQ has not received an air permit application for a potential Dominion Energy gas plant in Chesterfield and therefore has issued no permit. As part of an air permit application to DEQ. The local government would need to certify that the proposed facility is in full compliance with the local zoning ordinances and indicate to DEQ in writing that the site is suitable for the proposed use. This does not necessarily indicate that each board of supervisors BOS member would need to sign off on this agreement.

Dominion Energy also provided a statement to 8News regarding the appeal:

We stand behind the county’s determination that the project would be a permitted use of the power station property under its existing zoning. We have not made a decision to relocate the project to the power station property, and we are still considering both sites. I cannot overstate the vital importance of this project for the reliability of the power grid that serves more than 2.7 million customers in Virginia and North Carolina, including the more than 100,000 customers in Chesterfield County. Virginia urgently needs a more reliable power supply to keep up with the unprecedented growth in power demand. This project will help keep the power on when our customers need it the most, on the hottest and coldest days of the year. That’s when our customers depend on us the most, and it’s when we have to deliver. Nothing less is at stake.

Besa said that he and others will be rallying at the next Chesterfield County Board of Supervisors meeting on Wednesday, June 26 and that the community can’t wait who those in charge do not respond to their requests.

“The bottom line is we’re concerned about this gas plant and the pollution it will create for the neighborhood and for the county,” Besa said. “This is such a large project with so much pollution, the citizens have a right to be heard by the county and not just by DEQ.”

8News reached out to the Chesterfield County Board of Zoning Appeal for comment and has not heard back yet.

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