Chesterfield Gas Plant Permit Opposed by Chesapeake Bay Foundation
The Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF) this month filed a friend-of-the-court brief in support of challengers to the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality’s (DEQ) approval of an air permit for Dominion Energy’s proposed new fossil fuel power plant in Chesterfield County.
DEQ announced its decision to grant the Prevention of Significant Deterioration Permit for Dominion’s $1.47 billion Chesterfield Energy Reliability Center (CERC) in a letter Dec. 19.
The proposed 944-megawatt natural gas plant would be located in the footprint of the retired coal-fired Chesterfield Power Station, near the Dutch Gap conservation area south of Richmond. It could result in over 2 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions annually, contributing additional pollution to the Chesapeake Bay.
CBF submitted the brief in support of a challenge to DEQ’s issuance of the air permit filed by the Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC) on behalf of the Chesterfield County branch of the NAACP, CASA Inc., Appalachian Voices, and Mothers Out Front.
CBF submitted the brief on July 2 in Richmond Circuit Court.
The State Corporation Commission approved the plant in November 2025 despite the Virginia Clean Economy Act’s prohibition against new natural gas facilities in the Commonwealth.
At an SCC hearing in September 2025, CBF and partners presented evidence that the proposed plant is both unnecessary for energy demands and a direct threat to public health and the environment.
The proposed facility would emit pollutants including nitrogen oxides (NOx) and fine particulate matter (PM2.5). There is no safe level of exposure to PM2.5, which is linked to premature death, asthma, cardiovascular disease, and other serious health conditions.
Dominion Energy has said the facility could be commercially operational by June 1, 2029.
In October 2025, CBF joined SELC in filing Joint Comments on the Draft Prevention of Significant Deterioration Permit for CERC, highlighting the misrepresentative air modeling and limited environmental justice analysis supporting the application.
Supporting the legal action against the permit helps hold polluters accountable, contributes to the development of a diverse and inclusive Bay movement, and is a meaningful step to address pollution and climate change in the Chesapeake Bay watershed.
Chesapeake Bay Foundation Environmental Justice Staff Attorney Taylor Lilley issued the following statement:
“DEQ’s decision is a reversible error. It issued this permit without a reasonable legal justification and failed to comply with the Commonwealth’s environmental justice requirements.”
“Dominion’s forecasts on potential effects to environmental justice communities are incomplete at best. It is unclear just how much this plant will harm frontline populations who typically bear the brunt of pollution.”
“Scientific evidence shows there is no safe level of exposure to PM2.5, and Black communities often face the most severe negative effects from it. None of this critical nuance is reflected in the Department’s review of this permit.”
“The court should remand this permit to DEQ for review consistent with the environmental justice laws and precedent in place. This move would begin to address the harms posed by this ill-conceived and unjustified project.”
