Category: Energy

EPA Plan to Relax Coal Ash Regulation Affects Potomac River

Comments At EPA Coal Ash Hearing on April 24, 2018.

I stand in opposition to proposed amendments to EPA’s coal ash regulation not as an expert but as a citizen and an avid kayaker. I’ve been kayaking on the Potomac since 1997, and I’m concerned about the hazardous impact on water quality, wildlife, and water sports of dumping contaminated coal ash into the Potomac River from the site of a retired coal fired plant at Possum Point on Quantico Creek south of Alexandria.

According to Potomac Riverkeeper Dean Naujoks, Dominion Resources has been dumping contaminated coal ash from ponds at Possum Point into the Potomac via Quantico Creek since at least May, 2015. In January, 2016 instead of banning this practice, the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) issued a wastewater discharge permit authorizing more Coal Combustion Residue (CCR) dumping over the objections of citizens of Prince William County and their state senator Scott Surovell. (more…)

Pricing Carbon in Virginia?

I am speaking on my own behalf. My remarks have not been authorized by nor do they reflect the position of any organization with which I have ever been associated.

I support adoption of Executive Directive 11 (ED 11), which directs the State Air Pollution Control Board to regulate carbon emissions in Virginia through a cap and trade program. I further support the regulation’s requirement that Virginia join the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) as the most efficient way to price carbon in the Mid-Atlantic region. The Virginia Sierra Club has provided statistics showing both the need for this rule and the economic and health benefits to be derived.

However Sierra Club has omitted a key fact–namely that the General Assembly is owned by Dominion Resources, which will see to it that any carbon emissions regulation contemplated by the Pollution Control Board proves a dead letter. To those who doubt that Dominion has purchased the best legislature that money can buy, a few statistics should suffice.

According to Virginia Public Access Project (VPAP), Dominion donated almost $1 million to political causes in Virginia in 2017, including $369,000 to Republicans, $317,000 to Democrats, $175,000 to Senate candidates and caucuses, and $210,000 to HOD candidates and caucuses. (more…)

Arlington Delegation to Richmond Feeds at Dominion’s Trough

Comments at January 5, 2017 Public Forum Hosted by Arlington Delegation to Virginia General Assembly.

The Arlington delegation to the state General Assembly touts itself as progressive. Delegate Patrick Hope heads up the Virginia Progressive Caucus, which he formed in 2012. Delegate Alfonso Lopez has described himself as the most liberal member of the General Assembly. Yet despite all this grandstanding, the amount of progressive legislation adopted by the General Assembly in recent years is paltry. The Arlington delegation explains that the state legislature is owned by downstate Republicans, who oppose its agenda.

One area where progress is decidedly absent is renewable energy. (more…)

Why Protest Now?

I’ve been taking a lot of heat for boycotting the February 17 Keystone XL Pipeline Protest even though I live in the DC area, because like the Punk Patriot I didn’t see the point. The Keystone XL pipeline is a done deal precisely because the organizers of the demonstration refused to take action against it when their opposition might have meant something.

The time for Sierra Club to protest was BEFORE the election of 2012 not AFTER. The least Sierra Club could have done was to withhold support for Obama until he acknowledged the threat of climate change and pledged to do something about it in the debates. (more…)

Fukushima Not Catastrophic Says Washington Post

In an April 23 editorial, the Washington Post trotted out several myths to support its argument that nuclear is preferable to renewable energy. Among them was the notion that nuclear is the only reliable source of low carbon emissions energy. WP reported Germany has been forced to import fossil fuel generated electricity after shutting down 8 nuclear power plants. Yet the anti-nuclear group Beyond Nuclear reports that Germany is a net energy exporter that reduced its carbon emissions 2.1 percent in 2011. (more…)

Arlington Green Concerned About Community Energy Plan

Arlington Green Steve Davis raised concerns about the viability of the county’s proposed Community Energy Plan (CEP) at the April 26 County Board Meeting. Speaking on behalf of the Arlington Green Party, which was a liaison to the Community Energy and Sustainability (CES) Task Force, Steve Davis said he agrees with the plan’s recommendations. But he doesn’t think it goes far enough. He’s also concerned that one of its core recommendations, a district energy company that would use cogeneration of heat and power (CHP) to reduce the carbon footprint of densely populated neighborhoods like Rosslyn, Ballston and Crystal City, might require state legislative approval. (more…)