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Friends of Chesterfield urge caution as Cumberland reviews Dominion gas-plant proposal
Summary
Members of Friends of Chesterfield told Cumberland planners that Dominion Energy’s history with coal ash and cleanup in Chesterfield County left residents distrustful and warned commissioners to scrutinize cumulative health and environmental impacts before approving a large gas-fired project.
Jessica Sims, a Chesterfield resident and member of Friends of Chesterfield, told the Cumberland County Planning Commission that her group formed after Dominion announced plans for a large gas-fired plant in Chesterfield and participated in regulatory reviews over several years.
"We were residents who came together because we had a lot of questions about what the impact of the project could be," Sims said, and she framed the presentation around Dominion’s legacy in the county, community experience with an older coal-fired plant and concerns about coal-ash contamination.
Sims described coal-ash ponds that were originally unlined and cited testing the group said was done by the James River Association showing elevated arsenic levels. The packet provided to commissioners, she said, included a screenshot and an audio clip from a local teacher who detailed pollutant types and health risks.
An audio recording played for the commission featured Jason Mulvaney, identified in the presentation as a Chesterfield science teacher at Carver Academy, who listed pollutants expected from similar plants (PM2.5, sulfur oxides, nitrogen oxides, volatile organic compounds and others) and discussed long-term health risks. Mulvaney cited a study he said the Southern Environmental Law Center released during Chesterfield’s review that projected "78 premature deaths each year" and an annual health-care burden of about "$88,500,000" attributable to the Chesterfield plant’s pollution.
Sims and the presenters urged Cumberland staff and commissioners to consider the full local and regional context — including nearby data-center buildouts that drive demand for generation — and to "slow down and ask a little more deeper questions," Supervisor Jessica Schneider told the commission as she closed the presentation. Schneider described higher asthma rates and long-term exposure in the Bermuda District as background for listeners evaluating similar projects.
The presentation was delivered as informational context; Sims said Friends of Chesterfield’s role in Cumberland was to share lessons learned and suggested Cumberland residents could host a plant-specific presentation addressing local site details.
