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Residents urge Buckingham supervisors to press Cumberland on proposed 3,000‑MW Dominion gas plant
Summary
Speakers warned a proposed 3,000‑megawatt Dominion gas-fired plant in neighboring Cumberland County could bring heavy water use, new pipelines and increased pollution near Buckingham; residents asked the Board to seek transparency and to ask Cumberland to slow its permitting process.
Several Buckingham residents urged the Board of Supervisors to press neighboring Cumberland County for more information about Dominion Energy’s proposed Cumberland Energy Center and to slow its permitting timeline.
“A half mile from the Buckingham County border…Energy Center is a cute and innocuous name for the second largest gas power plant in the United States, at 3,000 megawatts,” said Amy Crawford (District 4), who asked the Board to coordinate with Cumberland and seek an independent analysis of public‑health, water and economic impacts. Crawford told the Board the plant would use “an average of 800,000 gallons of water a day, but up to 2 million,” and she listed pollutants residents fear will be emitted around the clock.
Steve Haring (District 1) echoed those concerns, noting the site is roughly two miles from his home and could require new high‑pressure gas lines and larger transmission corridors across Buckingham. “Dominion is trying to build infrastructure that fundamentally changes the rural character of our counties,” Haring said, and asked the Board to send a letter urging Cumberland to slow its conditional‑use permitting process so neighboring counties have time to evaluate impacts.
Vice Chairman L. Cameron Gilliam later told the Board he supported residents’ calls for caution, noting Valley Link routing choices and other infrastructure projects have overlapping effects. The Board did not take formal action on the request at the meeting; residents asked the Board to coordinate with Cumberland and seek more public engagement and technical review.
