It was disappointing to hear that Old Dominion Electric Cooperative is planning on building a coal-fired power plant at the headwaters of the Blackwater River.

I do not even see how DEQ could entertain the idea since the mercury problem we have in the river has been identified as being airborne and coming from coal-fired power plants and industry.

Certainly as the demand for electricity increases, so will the need to generate more electricity. Now if ODEC would build a power plant with the latest technology to scrub all the mercury from the air, that would be much better for all of us. Not to mention all the critters that live in that fragile part of the watershed.

Maybe they will do that. I certainly hope so, because I can’t see the feds and state continuing to spend millions on research to find sources of our mercury problems, or funding programs and paying people to do studies on mercury, when they are permitting the single largest emitter/contributor of the problem to continue and expand blowing mercury up our noses.

Does that make sense?

Jeff Turner

Blackwater Nottoway Riverkeeper