After declaring war on Dominion Energy last week, the nonprofit that owns and operates Mount Vernon—home of George Washington—now hints that the energy utility may capitulate and re-locate an industrial facility that threatens the historic estate’s pristine view.
The Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association announced its public opposition on June 26 to a proposed Dominion Energy gas compressor station in Charles County, Md., saying it was “alarmed and dismayed” that the company planned to build it within view of Mount Vernon.
The shoreline of the Potomac around and across from the 18th-century homestead has been fiercely protected from development, providing one million visitors a year with what Ladies’ Association President and CEO Mark Bradburn describes as a “direct and visceral” connection with George Washington.
Mount Vernon won’t settle for minimizing the size and footprint of the facility. “There is no size we would be happy with putting in this area,” Bradburn said. “Dominion Energy can move its compressor station. We can’t move Mount Vernon.”
Now there are signs that Dominion may be backing down. On Friday, Mount Vernon posted a statement that it is working with Dominion “to find an alternate location” for the compressor station. Mount Vernon implies that Dominion has already made the concession to move to a new site. “As we work towards finding a mutually agreeable solution, we will share more details regarding the new natural gas compressor station location,” the statement says.
It also took down the petition it posted as part of its “Save the View” campaign.
Mount Vernon is “unable to comment as we work through this issue with Dominion,” according to Melissa Wood, Director of Media Relations at Mount Vernon.
“We are working with Mount Vernon to evaluate alternatives to our current plans for Charles compressor station and to resolve the matter amicably,” said Karl Neddenien, Dominion Energy’s Community Relations Manager for the project.
According to permit applications, Dominion’s alternate site is along Billingsley Road in Charles County, Md., Wood said, more than eight miles east of the current proposed site and in an area zoned for industrial projects.
Mount Vernon indicated last week that one reason it was stepping forward now—two years after the plan was made public—is that they didn’t feel Dominion was acting in good faith or could be trusted.
“Dominion says it won’t be visible. They can’t guarantee that,” Bradburn said. “Their promises to us are not binding.”
Stacks, which rise above the building and are key in dispersing emissions, would be the most obvious visible presence above the tree canopy.
“Mount Vernon became increasingly alarmed by the inconsistencies in the information that was obtained about this project, particularly by discrepancies in the estimated planned stack heights,” Bradburn said. Dominion has reported stack heights in different permit applications ranging from 50 feet to 113 feet.
During the live stream of Mount Vernon’s press conference, Dominion posted a response that it had “worked with” the community and Mount Vernon representatives for more than two years. And, the height of the compressor station has always been fixed at 50 feet, it said, “in order to remain invisible from Mount Vernon.”
Dominion also responded to Mount Vernon’s public opposition with a YouTube video, which included pictures of the mansion and grounds at Mount Vernon.
“We have worked in good faith with the Mount Vernon Association to understand what their concerns might be, how to build that into the design,“ Dominion’s Eastern Pipeline Engineering and Construction Vice President Cristie Neller narrated. “We spent a lot of time make sure that this is not a project visible from Mount Vernon.”
She went on the describe how large red balloons were raised to a 50-foot height at the proposed site to confirm that they didn’t spoil the viewshed.
Melissa Wood took issue with Dominion’s assertion that it has been “working with us for two years.” For example, one of their staff members took several months to reply to an email, she said. “We have in no way collaborated on this project,” she said.
The Charles Compressor Station, part of Dominion Cove Point’s Eastern Market Access Project, would help provide gas to Washington Gas & Light and Mattawoman Power Plant, although critics contend that it would primarily serve Dominion’s LNG export terminal in Calvert County.
The site is in Charles County, Md., just over the Prince Georges County line adjacent to Piscataway National Park. Dominion filed a lawsuit against the Charles County Appeals Board after it denied Dominion a special exception permit. A federal agency allowed Dominion to clear-cut 13 acres of trees without obtaining the local permit.
Many people who live in Charles and Prince Georges Counties oppose the project, but not all of them want it simply to be relocated.
“AMP Creeks has taken the position that we don’t support just moving it and making it somebody else’s problem,” Kelly Canavan, President of AMP Creeks Council, said. “If it’s a problem here for us, it’s a problem wherever it goes.”
“It still runs the risk of fire and explosion, it would still create a lot of pollution depending on how close it is to other people and wildlife, there’s noise and light pollution,” she continued. “It’s an unpleasant project. It’s a huge industrial facility, and it comes with inherent risks wherever it is.”
Note: This article has been updated to include comment from Dominion Energy.
