Pictured above: The proposed site of the Chickahominy Power Station in Charles City County. (Sarah Vogelsong/Virginia Mercury)
Excerpt: The developer behind this project has not been transparent. Residents of Charles City County can attest that this developer used secrecy and division to push through an unpopular project. The Pipeline’s purpose would be to feed Chickahominy Power, an unpopular merchant gas plant permitted since June 2019. Despite being the largest proposed gas plant in the state of Virginia, developers managed to rush permits through the regulatory process without authentic community engagement. Residents have formed Concerned Citizens of Charles City County, a grassroots group that continues to oppose the company for dismissing citizen concerns. Chickahominy has applied for an unusual exemption to regular SCC oversight, petitioning to bypass the Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity. While the hearing examiner recommended that this petition be denied, the SCC still hasn’t made a final decision.