ENERGY + ENVIRONMENT
Canadian and western wildfires bring hazardous smoke to Virginia
Massive wildfires near the Ontario-Minnesota border as well as blazes farther west in Canada and the United States are bringing smoke throughout Virginia, causing state officials to issue a health alert Wednesday morning due to high levels of particulate matter. “It’s basically all over the state at this point,” said Virginia Department of Environmental Quality […]
Some water systems push back on treatment costs for ‘forever chemicals’ regulation
WASHINGTON — Local water utilities worried about getting hit with lawsuits and high cleanup costs are stepping up their lobbying of Congress as lawmakers move to regulate toxic chemicals found in drinking water. The bill, the PFAS Action Act of 2021, has garnered bipartisan support and two Michigan lawmakers, Reps. Debbie Dingell, a Democrat, and Fred Upton, a […]
For Virginia, climate action is a matter of faith
By Karen McElfish This past year has challenged Virginia in unforeseeable ways. Our faith communities have been tested by not one, but four converging crises: the COVID-19 pandemic, an economic recession, racial inequalities and the climate crisis. As the nation hoped and prayed for a better future, it was the wisdom and guidance of our […]
As coastal flooding worsens, some cities are retreating from the water
By A.R. Siders, University of Delaware and Katharine Mach, University of Miami When the tide gets exceptionally high in Charleston, South Carolina, coastal streets start to run with seawater. Some yards become ponds, and residents pull on rain boots. The city also gets a lot of rain. After homes in one low-lying neighborhood flooded three times […]
Court rejects challenge to Virginia’s carbon rule
Richmond’s circuit court has a rejected a challenge filed by a group representing Virginia manufacturers who sought to thwart the state’s entry into a regional carbon-trading network. The Virginia Manufacturers Association alleged the state Department of Environmental Quality had violated the state Administrative Process Act when it revised regulations that brought Virginia into the Regional […]
U.S. House to vote next week on expanding PFAS regulation, backers say
WASHINGTON — Members of Congress and Biden administration officials at a conference on Wednesday outlined how they’re attempting to regulate toxic chemicals found in drinking water—including an upcoming vote in the U.S. House. EPA Administrator Michael Regan, a former top environmental official in North Carolina, said the agency is currently in the process of regulating […]
Legislators built a solar program for apartment dwellers. The SCC gutted it.
The State Corporation Commission recently finalized regulations for the Multifamily Shared Solar Program, created by the General Assembly to give residents of apartment buildings and condominiums the ability to use solar energy from panels installed on their buildings. But in implementing the program, the SCC also made sure it can never be used. Dominion Energy […]
Livestock are a major part of Virginia agriculture. But there are fewer and fewer vets for farm animals.
For many years, Buckingham County, home to tens of thousands of cows, goats, sheep and hogs, had no veterinarians devoted to treating livestock. “There just was nobody in the county,” said Ivan Davis, a cattle operator and president of the Buckingham Farm Bureau. And, “when you need a vet, you need a vet.” Today, Buckingham […]
Company pulls plug on proposed Charles City gas power plant
The company that had been pushing to build an 1,100-megawatt natural gas power plant in Charles City has announced it will abandon the project. “NOVI Energy cares deeply about the communities it serves and the affordable, reliable power facilities it helps build,” a communications firm representing the company told The Richmond Times-Dispatch, which reported the […]
Company exploring new gas pipeline in five central and eastern Va. counties
A company that appears to be affiliated with efforts to build a large natural gas plant in Charles City County is exploring the possibility of constructing a gas pipeline through five central and eastern Virginia counties, according to letters sent to residents. In the letters, Chickahominy Pipeline, LLC, requests landowners’ permission to enter their property […]
EPA recommends that Army Corps of Engineers not grant Mountain Valley Pipeline stream crossing permit
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has recommended that the Army Corps of Engineers not grant Mountain Valley Pipeline a critical permit to cross several hundred streams in Virginia and West Virginia. “EPA has identified a number of substantial concerns with the project as currently proposed, including whether all feasible avoidance and minimization measures have been […]
PETA seeks safety designation for stretch of Virginia road prone to hog truck crashes
PETA has asked the state Department of Transportation to designate a portion of State Route 10 in southeastern Virginia as a highway safety corridor due to what the animal welfare group and locals say is a high rate of crashes involving hog trucks. A safety corridor designation on the road between U.S. Route 58 in […]