Virginia Natural Gas is currently petitioning the State Corporation Commission to build a compressor station in Chesapeake. This facility would be built in an urban area near the Eva Gardens, Crestwood, Sturbridge Village and Midway neighborhoods in Chesapeake. A large cemetery also borders the proposed project. Compressor stations are noisy facilities and are also very harmful to air and water quality. The construction sites chosen for them and the natural gas pipelines that they run are often placed in minority and lower-income neighborhoods. They seem to target those who have fewer resources to mount any legal resistance.
The above listed considerations are enough to warrant moving this project out of the urban area. While researching, I was struck by something on the VNG website that I saw: To cut back on emissions, the compressor station will use electric motors.
The gas companies have been telling us for years how safe and clean that natural gas is. Money wise, it would be to the gas companies’ advantage to power compressor stations with the product that they are moving. But VNG must be worried about the emissions that natural gas would cause at this facility.
The irony is apparent. If this is the case, then VNG and we should be concerned about the emissions that are created by this fossil fuel product. It is apparent to me that their product is neither safe nor clean for us. A renewable alternative to natural gas should be considered.
Jeff Staples, Chesapeake
Slow progress
I am a member of Virginia Organizing, and we have been working to convince the Newport News City Council to build a city-run homeless shelter.
Newport News is one of the largest cities in Virginia that doesn’t have a homeless shelter, and in January, our council claimed it would consider the creation of a shelter if a feasibility study was done that gauged the viability of a homeless shelter in our city.
In the same month that the study was completed, a statement was made that this study would be available for public reading by the end of February. At the time of my writing, there is still no official word, despite several direct attempts to get an update at City Council meetings.
Citizens of this city need this shelter, and the city should not stay silent on when they may finally find help.
William C. Brinton, Newport News
Co-equal branches?
The term “co-equal branches” is misleading. The Constitution designates a hierarchy among the branches: legislative (Article One), the executive (Article Two) and the judiciary (Article Three). The number of pages dedicated to each branch is evidence of unequal powers.
The House holds significant powers, including initiating taxes, lawmaking and impeachment procedures. For oversight, it can issue subpoenas, eliminate departments and even elect the president when electoral vote count is equal. The Senate ratifies treaties, uses its advise and consent powers to approve appointments, and can convict a sitting president.
Both chambers can propose laws and constitutional amendments, and both have the power of the purse.
The president signs executive orders, oversees the budget, nominates federal justices and oversees international affairs. He appoints secretaries for federal departments, names ambassadors, signs bills, and has veto power and the bully pulpit.
The judiciary branch “protects our rights and resolves disputes,” upholds due process and oversees the judiciary branches.
The constitutional powers assigned to each branch clearly demonstrates their unequal powers. The Founding Fathers codified Articles One and Three to be significant safeguards in preventing the establishment of a king, dictator or authoritarian. These two branches must now impose their oversight powers to prevent the unconstitutional behavior of the 47th president.
David N. Camaione, Virginia Beach