Heather Michon\u00a0
Editor<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After months of hearings and deferrals, the Fluvanna County Planning Commission voted 5-0 Tuesday night (Feb. 24), to recommend denial of Tenaska\u2019s proposed Expedition Generation gas-fired power plant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The vote followed roughly three hours of public comment and extended commissioner deliberations that increasingly turned from technical compliance to a more fundamental question of community fit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Public comment stretched nearly two hours. As in previous hearings, most speakers urged the commission to deny the plant, while a smaller number argued in favor of it, citing economic development, tax revenue and grid reliability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One remark captured the broader stakes of the debate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis is a generational vote,\u201d one speaker said. \u201cIt\u2019s not just going to affect us. It\u2019s going to affect our kids. It\u2019s going to affect our kids\u2019 kids.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The meeting packet ran nearly 300 pages \u2014 a compilation of traffic analyses, environmental studies, staff reports and consultant memos. The Special Use Permit expanded to include tighter noise thresholds, defined financial penalties for violations and more specific land-use buffers around the plant site.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Tenaska also increased its financial commitments. The company pledged $5 million to a \u201cGood Neighbor Fund\u201d to provide annual payments to homeowners within two miles of the facility and another $5 million to help fund a new fire station near Kidd\u2019s Store.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yet as the paperwork grew thicker and the conditions more detailed, the debate itself grew simpler.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Commissioners wrestled with a broader question: Is this the right project for Fluvanna County? Does it protect residents\u2019 health and well-being? And does a gas-fired power plant of this scale reflect the community\u2019s long-term vision?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For each commissioner, the answer was no.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Chair Barry Bibb (Cunningham) said his concerns evolved over several months of research and conversations with residents. While noise was initially the primary issue raised at early meetings, he later examined potential long-term health impacts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Bibb cited research suggesting that constant, chronic noise \u2014 even at levels below those that cause hearing damage \u2014 can function as a sustained stressor, with possible links to elevated stress hormones, hypertension, heart disease, stroke risk, sleep disruption, chronic fatigue and anxiety.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Beyond noise, he raised concerns about air emissions and what he described as the potential \u201ccumulative effect\u201d of multiple emission stacks located in close proximity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI have some friends around there that take care of children. By looking at this, I have concerns,\u201d he said. \u201cI probably shouldn\u2019t say this, but I\u2019m also on the board of a daycare center that has 38 children, and I\u2019m concerned about that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Commissioner Lorretta Johnson-Morgan (Columbia) said her concerns extended beyond the plant itself to the broader direction of development in the county.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She questioned why energy infrastructure and industrial growth appeared to be concentrating in Fluvanna, citing proposed transmission lines, data center interest and past environmental challenges.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhy does everything have to be centered in Fluvanna County?\u201d she asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Johnson-Morgan also expressed concern that expanding transmission capacity and adding large-scale energy infrastructure could invite additional development, particularly data centers. Referencing growth in neighboring counties, she said she did not want Fluvanna to \u201cbecome Northern Virginia,\u201d where data centers have reshaped the landscape. The county, she said, should \u201cstep back\u201d and reevaluate its long-term direction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Commissioner Kathleen Kilpatrick (Fork Union) grounded her opposition in the county\u2019s Comprehensive Plan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not something that a bunch of people like us sit in a room and write,\u201d she said, describing the plan as the product of extensive public input and a reflection of the community\u2019s long-term vision.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kilpatrick said she could not find the proposal in \u201csubstantial accord\u201d with that vision. While acknowledging measurable economic benefits, including tax revenue, she said the Comprehensive Plan repeatedly calls for preserving rural character and heritage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOne thing that is fundamentally clear to me is that this is not what people have asked for in the Comprehensive Plan, and I could not approve it,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kilpatrick then moved to recommend denial of the Special Use Permit. The motion passed unanimously.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For residents who have spent more than six months organizing against the project, the 5-0 vote marked a significant milestone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yet it was not the final word.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The recommendation now moves to the Fluvanna County Board of Supervisors, which holds final authority over the application. At its March 18 meeting, supervisors may approve the permit, deny it or impose additional conditions by majority vote.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Supervisors are also expected to address a separate appeal concerning whether the project is in \u201csubstantial accord\u201d with the Comprehensive Plan.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Heather Michon\u00a0Editor After months of hearings and deferrals, the Fluvanna County Planning Commission voted 5-0 Tuesday night (Feb. 24), to recommend denial of Tenaska\u2019s proposed Expedition Generation gas-fired power plant. The vote followed roughly three hours of public comment and extended commissioner deliberations that increasingly turned from technical compliance to a more fundamental question of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":28051,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[58,23],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-28050","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-government","category-latest_news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/fluvannareview.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28050"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/fluvannareview.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/fluvannareview.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fluvannareview.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fluvannareview.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28050"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/fluvannareview.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28050\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":28052,"href":"https:\/\/fluvannareview.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28050\/revisions\/28052"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fluvannareview.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/28051"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/fluvannareview.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28050"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fluvannareview.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28050"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fluvannareview.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28050"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}