A Buckingham County citizens group called on the Board of Supervisors to adopt a community veto of a proposed natural gas compressor station in Union Hill.
Making the request at the board’s regular meeting, representatives of Concern for the New Generation presented a letter to the Buckingham County Board of Supervisors which listed the reasons for the request.
Kathie Mosely, a member of group and a resident of the Union Hill community, stated, “The pollution from the proposed compressor station would cause serious health issues including nose bleeds, rashes, breathing issues, and heart related illnesses.” She pointed to medical evidence from the American Medical Association. Mosely continued, “We are asking you to put our health and welfare first. I don’t believe the money they dangle in front of our faces is more important than the health of the citizens you represent.”
Sharon Ponton, an organizer with the Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League, told the Board that the state air permit would not protect the people of Union Hill. Pointing out that the county has the duty to protect public health, Ponton said,
“Your power is derived from the people in this community. The Code of Virginia states ‘any county may adopt such measures as it deems expedient to secure and promote the health, safety and general welfare of its inhabitants.’ Your responsibility to protect the members of this community is paramount.” She concluded, “The air pollutants from this heavy industrial activity are poison.”
Concern for the New Generation’s letter also questioned why the Union Hill and Union Grove communities had been chosen for this project, stating, “Rural, minority communities are unfairly chosen for such projects which industrialize our communities causing lower property values, pollution and health issues for a group of people who have spent their entire lives working hard to better their status.”
Ponton gave board members a copy of a fact sheet titled “Unequal Protection,” which describes how construction and maintenance regulations encourage natural gas companies to build in rural communities where standards are lower and construction is less expensive. Mosely stated, “We believe our lives are just as important as somebody who lives in the city. We want you to veto this compressor station.”
A Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League fact sheet given to the Supervisors revealed that the Virginia Dept. of Environmental Quality’s permit for the proposed 57,500 horsepower compressor would allow over 5,000 pounds of toxic formaldehyde to be emitted every year, along with thousands of pounds of other hazardous air pollutants.
Concern for the New Generation is working in collaboration with the Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League, an environmental and social justice organization founded in 1984. BREDL was incorporated in Virginia in 1992.
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