FLY ASH ALERT!

National Committee for the New River
George Santucci, 336/846-6267
April 27, 2011 — 5:40 p.m.

FLY ASH ALERT!

We recently met with staff members from Morgan Griffith’s (R) office in Washington, D.C.  Griffith is the U.S. House Member for Virginia’s 9th District in the New River watershed.  The Cumberland Park project in Griffith’s district is a critical concern for local citizens, communities downriver from Giles County, and everyone who cares about the future health of the New River and the watershed.

If you’ve been following this ill-advised project with us, you know that fly ash has been dumped in an unlined pit in the flood plain on the very banks of the New River in Giles County.  The state of Virginia claims this is “beneficial use” of this dangerous by-product of coal-fired power plants.

Of primary interest to the visitors to the Congressman’s office was enlisting  assistance in obtaining a copy of the FEMA floodplain development permit – a document that has not been provided to citizens concerned about the Cumberland Project, despite repeated requests. The FEMA IS-9 Floodplain Managers Manual indicates that a floodplain devlopment permit is required.

Can you help?

Congressman Griffith’s staff says he wants to follow the letter of the law, and we’d sure like to see that, too.  You can help by sending a letter, a fax, an email, or making a call to Congressman Griffith’s office.  Ask him to please help his Giles County constituents find the FEMA floodplain development permit and ensure the law is being folllowed.  The New River needs your help!

FYI, you might want to read this article that appeared in The Politico website recently:  http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0411/53490_Page3.html

Here is Congressman Griffith’s contact information:

The Honorable Morgan Griffith
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, D.C. 20515
202/225-3861 phone
202/225-0076 fax

17 W. Main Street
Christiansburg, VA 24073
540/381-5671 phone
540/381-5675 fax

morgangriffithforcongress.com – you can click through this website to email the Congressman.
We don’t want to wait for another fly ash disaster to fix this!