Residents from Chesterfield outline lessons and warn Cumberland about Dominion proposal

Jessica Sims, speaking for Friends of Chesterfield, told the Cumberland County Planning Commission that her group's three-year experience with a Dominion Energy project showed repeated transparency problems and long-term pollution impacts. "Friends of Chesterfield is a member group of just volunteers local residents that was formed in 2023," Sims said, and she framed the group's presentation as a cautionary account for Cumberland officials.

Sims described coal-ash ponds that were originally unlined, cited testing by the James River Association that she said showed arsenic at very high levels, and said residents faced decades of pollution before legislation and public pressure forced change. She asked commissioners to consider how a large infrastructure campus on a 900-acre site could enable additional infrastructure later and to be mindful of cumulative impacts tied to nearby data-center buildout. "We look to inform our neighbors and decision makers about our concerns," she said.

The presenters emphasized they were offering Chesterfield's experience as a reference, not a direct one-to-one comparison, and suggested Cumberland invite local residents for a site-specific presentation. Chair allowed the presentation as part of the commission's public-input process though several commissioners probed whether Chesterfield's facts translated to Cumberland.