In Cumberland, questions swirl over water sources for newly approved Dominion gas plant

Cumberland County has promised Dominion Energy two million gallons of water a day from Cobbs Creek Reservoir for its proposed three gigawatt natural gas plant. But technically, the water is not yet theirs to give away.

The county board of supervisors voted 3-1 on Tuesday night to approve the conditional use permit for the natural gas plant that would become the second largest in the nation if it is fully approved by regulators and state agencies. 

Board Chair John Newman, a former Dominion employee, recused himself from the vote. 

The CUP permit approval came after months of public meetings and hearings about the project. The room was split between residents from Cumberland and the surrounding counties who support and oppose the project. 

The supervisors’ vote will allow portions of the land where the plant will be located off of Duncan Store Road bordering the James River and Buckingham County to be rezoned, as well as a laydown site nearby.

The massive gas plant will run full time and provide enough electricity for up to 750,000 homes, with the utility predicting power demands to more than double by 2045.

“The proposed Cumberland Energy Center is a vital piece of our all-of-the-above strategy to meet our growing customer demand reliably and affordably by decreasing reliance on more costly purchases from the PJM market,” said Dominion spokesman Jeremy Slayton.

Board member Bryan Hamlet was the only supervisor to vote against moving forward with the permit. While he was not against the plant as a whole, he said he wanted to nail down details on where the water will come from. The county should have continued its due diligence before advancing the project, he stated. 

“I see the benefits. Absolutely. I can’t deny that. When you look at the revenue in a county such as Cumberland, when you look at what this board is tasked with when it comes to pinching pennies and making sure that we’re fully funding the offices of this county, our schools, our sheriff’s department, EMS, and our wonderful volunteer firefighters,” Hamlet said during the Tuesday hearing. 

But, he asked “What happens to this project if we go ahead and prematurely authorize the conditional use permit and that water deal is not in place?”

The reservoir at Cobbs Creek, otherwise known as the Virgil R. Hazelett Reservoir, was completed just last year and is owned by Henrico County, despite being within Cumberland’s borders. 

The 14.8 billion gallon reservoir will release water into the James River in drier months. The construction of the reservoir led the Department of Environmental Quality to increase the amount of water that could be taken from the James River for drinking water by 47 million gallons a day on average. 

According to the Henrico County website, with the new agreement Henrico could withdraw 75 million gallons per day on average, an increase of 30 million gallons per day. The remaining 17 million gallons per day increase can be sold to its partners, Powhatan County and Cumberland. 

But the official deal to allow Cumberland to use that water has yet to be completed.

When asked where the water for the gas plant will come from, Slayton said “We are still working through those details.”

Henrico and Cumberland County officials did not respond to requests for an update on the water purchasing negotiations as of Friday afternoon.

Some residents who have staunchly opposed the gas plant, like Katie Hoffman and Steve Haring, said that approving the CUP before having all the facts was irresponsible.

“I would never be allowed to build a house without having a well site located. And so for Dominion to be able to use the equivalent of thousands of houses… the county said ‘you guys are good to go.’ But they don’t have one of the most important pieces locked down,” Haring said.

Haring said that members of the community have many outstanding questions related to the project.

“I think that the route, size and design of transmission lines, which could involve eminent domain, that’s a big one,” Haring said. “Also gas pipelines and potentially water pipelines from whatever water system they choose.”

Dominion still needs to file an official request for the project with the State Corporation Commission;  the panel of commissioners will then determine if the gas plant is in the public’s best interest. The project will also need approvals from DEQ for an air permit for the turbines. 

The project is anticipated to be completed in 2033-34 if all permits are approved.