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The impacts investigated
for the Marsh Run Facility included air emissions, water usage, water
sources, water discharges, terrestrial and aquatic impacts, visual
impacts, archeological and architectural sites, noise, socio-economic,
and geological impacts. These investigations determined that there were
no significant impacts from the facility.
Cumulative Air Study Confirms Marsh Run Will Not Have Adverse Impact on Air Quality A cumulative air impact study of the existing air quality and the "cumulative impact" of Old Dominion Electric Cooperative's Marsh Run Facility and other proposed electric generating facilities in the state found that the Marsh Run Facility will not have an adverse impact on future air quality in Fauquier County and surrounding counties. The incremental impact of the Marsh Run Facility and the combined impacts of the other proposed facilities were added to the worst-case background air quality to estimate future worst-case air quality in Fauquier and surrounding counties (Loudoun, Clarke, Warren, Prince William, Stafford, Culpeper and Rappahannock). The report concluded that the combined impacts of all proposed facilities are well below the allowable increments under the Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) program, and when added to the worst-case background air quality, will not cause or contribute to a violation of the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS). "This recent cumulative analysis is consistent with our December 2000 air modeling study and serves as a reassurance of our original findings that the Marsh Run Facility will not have an adverse effect on the area's air quality," said David Smith, Manager of Environmental Licensing and Compliance with Old Dominion Electric Cooperative. The study was conducted by Trinity Consultants, an independent firm that worked with Old Dominion, as part of the cooperative's final hearing with the State Corporation Commission on May 21, 2002. Analysis methodologies in that study were identical to those used in a similar study for Tenaska Virginia Partners, which is working to build a 900-megawatt electric generation facility in Fluvanna County. Regarding Tenaska's cumulative air impact study, SCC Hearing Examiner Michael D. Thomas said, "Because the additional cumulative impact modeling shows no significant deterioration of air quality...I find the facility's emissions will have no material adverse effect on economic development in Fluvanna County or surrounding counties." He added, "After the facility is built, the air quality in the area would be virtually indiscernible from the air quality that exists today." Thomas recommended approval for the Tenaska project. SCC judges then echoed Thomas' recommendation by approving the Tenaska application moving the project forward. Trinity has taken the Old Dominion study and has included the positive air quality impacts from the reduction of nitrogen oxide emissions called for in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's nitrogen oxide state implementation plan (NOx SIP call) that begins May 2004. EPA adopted its NOx SIP call to require large NOx emissions reductions in most of the states east of the Mississippi River, where nonattainment with the ozone national ambient air quality standards has been a persistent problem. The NOx reductions reveal that the air quality in Virginia will significantly improve. DEQ Approves Air Quality Modeling Study The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) has confirmed that the Marsh Run Facility would have no significant impact on air quality in Fauquier County. The DEQ independently analyzed the findings of our air modeling study, which was conducted by Burns & McDonnell, a third-party engineering firm. The study gauged the environmental impact of both the proposed Marsh Run Facility and the existing Dominion Virginia Power Facility. It confirmed that the combined emissions from the two facilities -- modeled at worst case scenario with both facilities running at full load for 365 days -- would not have a significant impact on Fauquier County's air quality. Moreover, as a peaking facility, the Marsh Run Facility will only be permitted to run the equivalent of 55 days a year. The results of the model also indicate all pollutant emissions are well below the National Ambient Air Quality Standards, which are federal standards based on protecting health. Any emissions generated by the Marsh Run Facility will meet or exceed all local, state and federal air quality standards. This is possible because the facility will use state-of-the-art, natural gas-fired combustion turbines -- the cleanest technology available today for the production of electricity for a unit of this size. The State Corporation Commission (SCC) Hearing Examiner Recommends Approval of The Marsh Run Project On August 22, 2002 Hearing Examiner Michael D. Thomas recommended to the SCC for them to issue a certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity (CPCN) for the construction and operation of the Marsh Run Project. Construction of the Marsh Run Generation Facility began in June 2003 and began commercial operation during September 2004. Other Environmental Measures Employed by the Marsh Run Generation Facility In addition to the measures described above to protect Fauquier and the surrounding county air resources, the facility developed a creative means to lessen the impact to local water supplies. To protect surface and groundwater resources, the Marsh Run Facility is using the wastewater discharge from the Town of Remington's sewage treatment plant for its water supply. The treated wastewater supplied by the Remington Wastewater Treatment Plant is used to facilitate the production of electricity. In turn, wastewater generated by the Marsh Run Generation Facility is returned to the sewage treatment plant. Such a system promotes the use of recycled water resources rather than tapping into groundwater or more pristine surface water resources near the facility. Old Dominion continues to work with area schools and local groups to develop wildlife enhancement projects for the Marsh Run Generation Facility that will benefit the diversity of plant and wildlife endemic to the more than 281 acre property. Recently, Old Dominion partnered with Liberty High School's Applied Agricultural Concepts students, faculty and staff in development of bluebird and wood duck shelters shelters that are now located throughout the Marsh Run property. Currently, Old Dominion is working with a local Boy Scout on his Eagle project that focuses on the development of an informational hiking trail in a wooded setting adjacent to Marsh.
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