From the Sierra Club, Virginia Chapter...
From the Sierra Club, Virginia Chapter...
In a courageous move last April the Citizens' Air Pollution Control Board assumed authority over air permits for Dominion's Wise County coal plant forestalling action by the VA Department of Environmental Quality that would have likely issued the permits that same month as Dominion had wanted.
Problem:
In the fight to defend the citizen environmental boards in the General Assembly last March the compromise to save the boards did provide for the Governor to appoint two new members to the air board. Protecting the Citizen Boards was an important victory, but the appointment of these two new air board members could determine the outcome on Dominion's Wise County Plant.
Solution:
The appointments that Governor Kaine makes will be critical to insuring clean air for all Virginians. We are urging the Governor to appoint thoughtful, well informed citizens committed to progress in meeting current air quality standards as well as future standards for greenhouse gases
Action Needed:
Protect Clean Air in Virginia! Click here to send a letter (example below the fold) to Governor Kaine on his appointments to the Citizens Air Board. Please take action ASAP!
(Which will be Kaine's legacy? Pictured above: Governor lauds Tinker Mountain conservation easement; Paul Stanley, age 11, as photographed by his mother, Theresa L. Burriss, an Assistant Professor of English and Appalachian Studies at Radford University.)
Dear Governor Kaine,The action by the Virginia General Assembly this past legislative session in creating two new positions to the State Air Pollution Control Board provides you with a critical opportunity to continue Virginia's slow but steady progress toward cleaner, healthier air for citizens of the Commonwealth.
The current Board has worked hard to balance the states obligation to insure a healthful environment for all citizens with the needs of industry and commerce. The progress the Board has made over the past several years must continue and the two appointments you make in the coming months will determine the future direction we take in Virginia with respect to air quality and climate change.
As a citizen of the Commonwealth, I urge you to appoint thoughtful, well informed citizens committed to progress in meeting National Ambient Air Quality Standards and who can help the state achieve compliance with inevitable regulation of greenhouse gas emissions which the US Supreme Court has directed to US EPA to develop. Candidates should be free of any financial or other ties to industries who contribute significantly to air pollution in Virginia, and in no case should approval of Dominion's Wise County power plant be a litmus test for appointment.
These appointments will be an enduring part of your environmental legacy, please give them careful consideration. Virginians are counting on you to name thoughtful stewards of our shared resources and public health. I look forward to hearing news of your upcoming air board appointments.
Sincerely,
Eileen Levandoski
If Kaine loads the board with Dominion stooges he will have no more smoke and mirrors to hide behind. He will stand fully exposed - this is his decision to make and no amount of political double speak will change that fact.
He will either defend the environment and people's health or he will defend Dominion. And everyone will know which he choose.