CCAN and our partners are organizing a couple days of activities on June 23-24 in Wise County around the next Air Board meeting. Folks from all across Virginia will be coming down to show their support for clean air in Wise County and to testify against Dominion’s proposed coal-burning plant. This is HUGE. It’s the final permit between Dominion and their no-good, dirty scoundrel of a coal-fired power plant.
The power is in the hands of the bureaucracy right now. As a citizen’s board, the Air Board has the power to reject Dominion’s permit and stop construction. They could also stall on the permit because the board is not currently at full capacity—Kaine has yet to appoint 3 new members. We’re looking for people to step up and testify against the plant.
This is an exciting opportunity for those of us who have been fighting the plant from up North and who haven’t been down to see what we could lose—and have been losing—when we talk about coal. “Clean” coal doesn’t exist. It doesn’t matter how powerful the scrubbers we put on a coal-burning plant, we still have to get the coal out of the mountains—and the way that we’re getting it now is by removing the mountains themselves.
One of the activities is a tour of Black Mountain. Thousands of acres of land have been mountaintop removal coal mined on the Virginia side of Black Mountain while directly over the Kentucky border lies a protected area. You will be able to see the stark contrast between the natural beauty of the Appalachian Mountains and the land that has been destroyed.
There will also be local music, service projects, and a chance to enjoy the best of Wise County. It’s worth a couple days to help stop the vicious practice of mountain top removal and stop another stinking, dirty coal plant in Virginia.
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