December 3, 2024 - The Newport News, Virginia government has applied for an almost $20 million federal grant that — if received — could help address the coal dust pollution that plagues the Southeast Community.

For decades, Newport News residents have urged the city government to address the pollution coming from Dominion Terminal Associates and Kinder Morgan coal terminals. Residents say the coal dust blows into the surrounding community and coats homes and schools. In addition to dirtying the atmosphere, residents also worry it’s causing them respiratory problems.

During a council work session last week, Chief Strategy Officer Eoghan Miller discussed ways the city is trying to be environmentally responsible. He noted that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has Community Change Grant funding available for environmental and climate justice activities that benefit disadvantaged communities. The funding is designed to reduce pollution and increase community climate resilience.

Miller said the city and a collection of community-based organizations submitted an application in November to address dust issues in the Southeast Community and requested $19.6 million in funding.

“We’ve got our fingers crossed,” Miller said. “We hope to hear more.”

Mayor Phillip Jones said remediation would take “a lot of money.” While the specific remedy remains to be determined, Jones said some potential solutions could include a coal fence or a dome.

“$20 million, I think, will change downtown, especially when it comes to coal mitigation,” he said. 

The state Department of Environmental Quality is working on a project that deploys monitors to test air quality and assess potential health risks associated with dust from the coal storage and transportation facilities in Newport News and Norfolk. The study, known as the Tidewater Air Monitoring Evaluation project, will measure and analyze toxic metals and particulates in the air in the two communities and use the information to conduct health risk assessments.

Miller told the Daily Press that in addition to dust coming from the coal terminals, the grant could also be used to mitigate other environmental factors such as dust coming off the interstate.

“Even if we get the funding, there’s probably not a single solution that completely eradicates these fugitive dust issues, and so it’s probably looking at a host of measures to hopefully reduce some of the fugitive dust issues, pollution issues, climate action issues that we have, in the Southeast Community particularly, and citywide,” he said.

According to Miller, the city hopes to find out before the end of the year whether it will receive the grant money.

Southeast Community resident Yugonda Sample-Jones, a longtime advocate for addressing the coal dust issue, said her organization EmPower All, the Sierra Club, the University of Virginia and numerous other local organizations have been raising awareness about the harm of coal dust in the Southeast Community and she hopes she hopes the city can undergo a holistic effort to create “a truly healthy space.”

She said she collaborated with the city on the community change grant application and hopes funding could be used for a dome, fence, or some other barrier to protect residents from dust.

“This is the most momentum we’ve had at a local level to do something about environmental justice,” she said.