Does this sound shady or what? First, there's a Dominion Power/pollution angle (side note: is there anything bad in this state that Dominion is NOT involved with?!?):
What sets Battlefield Golf Club at Centerville apart, however, isn't the course's layout or water hazards; this 18-hole playground is sculpted from 1.5 million tons of "fly ash," a charcoal-gray powdery substance left behind by burning coal to make electricity.If this were not a golf course, an industrial park or a similar venture, it would have to be regulated like a landfill. But because of a provision in the environmental regulations encouraging the "beneficial use" of fly ash, it's considered a "coal combustion byproduct" project instead of an industrial waste landfill.
The ash for Battlefield Golf Club came from a Dominion Virginia Power coal-burning plant 20 miles west in Deep Creek. Monitoring wells at the plant's fly-ash landfill have shown that unacceptably high levels of arsenic leached into groundwater. Arsenic, one of a number of heavy metals found in fly ash, has been linked to cancer, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
And as if that's not bizarre enough, check this out:
While work continued slowly on the site for a few years, the project took off in early 2007 with a third acquisition of the property - by a Norfolk-based LLC managed by J. Mark Sawyers, son of U.S. Rep. Thelma Drake. Sawyers' company bought the property from Wallace's company for $700,000, about $500,000 less than the assessed value of the property, city real estate records show.In a recent interview, Sawyers said all his company did was take over the project and that its only goal is to run a successful golf course. Sawyers said his mother is not involved in the project.
The same month Sawyers' company acquired the golf course - January 2007 - it was granted a tax break from the city because the course qualified as "open space" according to state code, as long as it "operated as a public service and maintains park-like characteristics."
To sum up, what we have here involves: a golf course made from dirty Dominion fly ash; cancer causing heavy metals; a sale of property at far below assessed value (to Thelma Drake's son's company, no less); and a suspicious tax break form the city to the golf course. Let's just put it this way: it doesn't take an Orthodox Rabbi to figure out that something here ain't kosher!
In true Orwellian form, the proposed "Cumberland Park" is hardly paradise. According to The Appalachian Voice
The project involves dumping about 300,000 tons of loosely compacted fly ash on a seven acre site on the New River flood plain near the West Virginia border. A 22 foot barrier would separate it from the river. The barrier is two feet taller than the 100 year flood level. Behind the barrier, the lowest part of the fly ash deposit would be within six feet of the water table.
(The fly ash is from a plant operated by American Electric Power)
A group of concerned citizenshave taken legal action.
This is another reason to help support Glenn Nye! Thelma needs to be "retired" and we need Glenn in DC.
As we know, Thelma Drake is Ms "PAC"-Man and will have some deep pockets during this campaign. To combat this, the Nye campaign needs as many donors as possible before 4/1. If you have a few dollars, please donate on line. Every little bit helps! Can you skip the latte tomorrow and send Glenn the $5 instead? Any amount will help the campaign.
We CAN make a difference. If you have the time, please go to http://www.glennnye.com/home and sign up to volunteer.
I've had the pleasure of volunteering this past week and there is a lot of energy in the HQ! I plan on giving as much time and money as I can. Will you join me?
Thelma needs to go!
Nye '08!
-Maria