Forest Service says proposed Virginia power plant would threaten wilderness area in North Carolina

The U.S. Forest Service says a proposed power plant in southwest Virginia could reduce visibility and the air quality needed by some plants in a scenic gorge in northwestern North Carolina, reports Keith Strange of The Coalfield Progress in Norton, Va.

At issue are Dominion Virginia Power's proposed Virginia City Hybrid Energy Center and the Linville Gorge Wilderness, along the Blue Ridge Parkway, which some have called "the Grand Canyon of the East." That's an exaggeration, but it's a great place, as we found when we took this photo in June 2006.

Pisgah National Forest Supervisor Marisue Hilliard said in a Dec. 4 letter "that sulfur dioxide emissions from the plant could have a detrimental effect on plant life in the Linville Gorge," Strange writes. "Hilliard said that the 3,369 tons projected to be emitted annually by the plant would violate the federal Clean Air Act." (Read more)

UPDATE, Dec. 20: Dominion and the Forest Service agreed on mitigation measures, under which Hilliard said the agency's concerns “should be fully addressed to our satisfaction.” (Read more)