HENRICO COUNTY, Va. — The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality held a town hall in Henrico Wednesday night, asking residents to help shape updated environmental justice guidance. Families from across the Commonwealth shared concerns and questioned whether their feedback would lead to meaningful change.
The agency says the feedback will help determine how it evaluates cumulative environmental impacts and how it engages communities during the permitting process.
For some attendees, the meeting was a chance to be heard. For others, it left unanswered questions.
Rachel James, one of many attendees who believes she should have received the draft guidance before the town hall, said the lack of advance materials made it difficult for people from near and far to give informed feedback on the permitting process guidance.
"I didn't feel that my questions were immediately welcome," James said.
Others said they were encouraged simply by having an opportunity to participate.
"I love that they're having the town hall today. I drove all the way from Norfolk, Virginia, just to just to get here, and I will attend the one in Virginia Beach next week," Kim Suddard said. "This guidance will make sure that the Department of Environmental Quality considers the total impact of all industries around vulnerable communities."
Attendees said they hope the updated guidance will encourage DEQ to consider the combined effects of pollution from multiple industrial facilities, rather than reviewing permits individually.
"Whether data centers are asking for permission to run their backup generators, whether it's Dominion asking to build a new gas-fired power plant, whether it's someone asking to have a water permit for some sort of water discharge," James said.
"We're concerned about pollution right now," Suddard said.
CBS 6 took these concerns to DEQ before and after the meeting. They were unable to speak with her because their spokesperson was at another meeting Wednesday. We are still waiting for our questions to be answered.
DEQ plans to release the draft guidance and continue to collect feedback before it is finalized.
CBS 6 is committed to sharing community voices on this important topic. Email your thoughts to the CBS 6 Newsroom.
📲: CONNECT WITH US
Blue Sky | Facebook | Instagram | X | Threads | TikTok | YouTube
This story was initially reported by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy. To learn more about how we use AI in our newsroom, click here.
