Timeline

Why this Information Is Important: Trace the events, activism, and institutional response related to coal dust pollution in Southeast Newport News and Lambert's Point. Attention: Residents, activists and advocates, researchers, policymakers See the highlights before jumping in. Hide Highlights

Southeast Newport News

Lambert's Point, Norfolk

1880s

In 1881, the Chesapeake and Ohio (C&O) Railway is extended from Richmond to a coal pier in Southeast Newport News to transport coal from West Virginia.

In 1883, the first train loaded with coal arrives in Lambert's Point from Pocahontas Coalfield in West Virginia via the Norfolk & Western (N&W) Railway.

1920s

In 1927, the Newport News Daily Press describes the use of sprinklers at the C&O coal pier to "minimize damage and discomfort arising from large quantities of coal dust in the air."^[1]

1950s

In 1954, the Garden-Shores Civic League writes a letter to the City of Newport News complaining about dust pollution, which they believe is "uncombusted coal blown from the railways' two coal dumping piers."^[2]

In 1956, the City of Newport News hires a chemical engineering firm to measure the amount of coal in airborne particles. The firm finds that 45% of airborne dust is coal at one location.^[3]^[4] This prompts C&O to install equipment to create a water fog over the coal piers to suppress fugitive dust.^[4] It also prompts the Newport News City Council to pass an air pollution ordinance focusing on the coal pier and other sources.

In 1956, Norfolk City Council votes to address Norfolk's air pollution issues using the Building Code. The Council is motivated by complaints they received about coal dust and other types of pollution from residents of West Ghent.^[5]

1960s

In 1966, the Virginia General Assembly passes the Air Pollution Control Act, creating the Virginia State Air Pollution Control Board (APCB), a governor-appointed panel responsible for air pollution research and regulation. As a result, the Newport News Air Pollution Ordinance is removed from city law.

In 1962, N&W completed construction on the Pier 6 Terminal. Because the Pier 6 Terminal was built prior to the U.S. Clean Air Act, it is exempt from some air permitting requirements.

1980s

In 1982, Dominion Terminal Associates and Massey Terminals are permitted and built on the C&O coal pier, called the Chessie System railyard.

In 1983–1985, community activism led by Ms. Louise Bazemore,^[6] Ms. Gloria Tabb,^[7] and others highlights the severity of coal dust pollution on nearby residents and compels the APCB to conduct a major research study on coal dust emissions and control in Southeast Newport News.

In 1987, the APCB study is published in the report: Control of Fugitive Emissions from Open Coal Storage in Newport News, Virginia.^[8] The outcome of this study is a wet dust suppression strategy that is for the most part still used today.

At an APCB meeting in 1987, Ms. Beverly Mann shares that hundreds of Norfolk residents are concerned about coal dust from the coal terminal in Lambert's Point. She says a monitor placed at her house reveled the dust contained over 38% coal.^[9]

1990s

In 1990, the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (VA DEQ) is formally established.
In 1991, the RISE, Inc. v. Kay lawsuit challenges a landfill siting in King and Queen County citing environmental racism. The case elevates the issue of environmental racism in Virginia's political discourse and leads to a definition of environmental justice in Virginia as the absence of intentional discrimination that is still used today by public officials.
In 1993, the Virginia General Assembly passes House Joint Resolution 529 (HJR 529), commissioning the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission (JLARC) to study the impact of the state's solid waste siting policies on communities of color.
In 1995, the JLARC report, Solid Waste Facility Management in Virginia: Impact on Minority Communities, was presented to the Virginia General Assembly. The report revealed that landfills were disproportionately located in areas with larger populations racial minorities and lower-income residents but no evidence of intentional race-based discrimination.

In 1992, the Virginia General Assembly forms the Joint Subcommittee Studying Measures to Reduce Emissions from Coal-Carrying Railroad Cars. The Subcommittee is charged with evaluating strategies for reducing coal dust from moving coal-carrying railcars and recommending legislative or regulatory changes.^[10]

In 1997, the Virginia General Assembly passes Virginia Senate Joint Resolution No. 257, requiring Norfolk Southern to submit annual reports on their efforts to identify and mitigate fugitive coal dust emissions.

2000s

In 2005, the Peninsula Health District publishes a study showing Southeast Newport News residents visit the emergency room for asthma at a rate double that of both Newport News and Virginia. This report has since been lost.^[11]

2010s

In 2015, Southeast CARE Coalition, New Virginia Majority, Appalachian Voices, Virginia Interfaith Power and Light, Chesapeake Climate Action Network, Faith Alliance for Climate Solutions, Mothers Out Front, Moms Clean Air Force, Sierra Club Virginia Chapter, Virginia Conservation Network, Virginia Organizing, and employees at the University of Richmond form the Virginia Environmental Justice Collaborative (VEJC) with the goals of coordinating and bolstering environmental justice efforts across Virginia.
In 2017, VEJC proposes a state-level environmental justice advisory body^[12] as part of public comment for Executive Order (EO) 57.
In response to the VEJC proposal, Governor Terry McAuliffe creates the Governor's Environmental Justice Advisory Council, now known as the Virginia Council on Environmental Justice, through Executive Order 73 in 2017.

In 2012, the Southeast CARE Coalition receives $100,000 in grant funds from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to Dr. Erica Holloman to study toxic pollutants in Southeast Newport News.^[13]

In 2013, the Southeast CARE Coalition hosts a series of symposia called, Is My Neighborhood Killing Me? Speakers include U.S. Representative Robert "Bobby" Scott and the EPA's Dr. Marva King.^[14]^[15]

In 2015, the Southeast CARE Coalition petitions the VA DEQ to install regulatory air monitors in Southeast Newport News.^[16]^[17]^[18]

In 2015, the Southeast CARE Coalition hosts a week-long camp for children with asthma that includes educational sessions on air pollution and its health impacts.^[19]

In 2017, the Southeast CARE Coalition and EPA release their report, A Collaborative Effort to Assess Environmental Health in Newport News, Virginia.

In 2015, the Sierra Club Virginia Chapter releases a report it commissioned analyzing dust samples from five homes. The samples contain 20–70% coal-like particles.^[20]^[21]^[22]

In 2017, New Virginia Majority and Sierra Club Virginia Chapter call for Norfolk Southern to cover its coal cars.^[23]^[24]

In 2017, New Virginia Majority rallies outside of Norfolk Southern's shareholder meeting. New Virginia Majority sends letters requesting a meeting Norfolk Southern CEO James Squires, who declines, prompting New Virginia Majority to develop the "Where Is Squires?" campaign to increase public pressure on Squires to meet with the community.^[23]

2020s

In 2020, because of continued grassroots activism, the Virginia General Assembly passes the Virginia Environmental Justice Act, committing to integrate environmental justice principles into state decision-making.
In 2020, Governor Northam issues EO 29 establishing the now-named Virginia Council on Environmental Justice (VACEJ). This same year, the Virginia General Assembly votes to make the VACEJ permanent.
In 2020, the Virginia General Assembly establishes the Interagency Environmental Justice Working Group.
In 2020, the VA DEQ secures funding for the Tidewater Air Monitoring Evaluation (TAME) to study coal dust levels and metals composition in Southeast Newport News and Lambert's Point. Data collection is yet to start.
In 2020, the VA DEQ hires consultants to produce a report on how to incorporate environmental justice in the agency's activities. This report, Environmental Justice Study for the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality, recommends creating the Office of Environmental Justice, among other recommendations.
In 2021, the VA DEQ established the Office of Environmental Justice with the stated mission "to ensure the fair and meaningful involvement of all people in the development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies across all DEQ programs."
In 2021, the Repair Lab is formed with a grant from the University of Virginia Karsh Institute for Democracy.
In 2022, Governor Glenn Youngkin starts his term, working against environmental justice in the Executive Branch and Virginia General Assembly. This leads to the VA DEQ's Office of Environmental Justice being downgraded from direct oversight by VA DEQ.
In 2023, then Office of Environmental Justice Director Renée Hoyos resigns, citing a diminished commitment by the VA DEQ to environmental justice and inadequate community engagement.
In 2023, Repair Lab Practitioners in Residence, Lathaniel Kirts and Malcolm Jones, launch Coal Dust Kills.^[25]
In 2024, the first air monitors of the VOICES Network: Voices Network: Voices Organizing In opposition to Coal dust with Environmental Sensing are installed in Southeast Newport News through a collaboration between the Repair Lab, Southeast CARE Coalition, and EmPower All.
In 2024, the Repair Lab's Adrian Wood releases Crosswinds, a five-episode podcast on the fight for clean air in Hampton Roads, Virginia.

In 2023–2025, the Repair Lab hosts a series of community events to focused on identifying and developing community-supported solutions to coal dust pollution.

In 2024–2025, the Repair Lab begins meeting with Newport News City Council members to gauge support for a city ordinance to address coal dust pollution with a wind fence or dome paid for by Dominion Terminal Associates and Kinder Morgan Bulk Terminals.

In 2025, the Repair Lab receives a grant of $663,471 from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to collect ambient dust measurements, residents' oral histories, and dust samples inside homes in and around Southeast Newport News to quantify trace metal composition.

New Virginia Majority and the Sierra Club Virginia Chapter, with Public Justice and Appalachian Mountain Advocates, petition the EPA to establish a new National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) program permit "regulating the discharge of coal and other coal-related pollutants to navigable waters from uncovered railcars." The petition follows a decision by the U.S. Surface Transportation Board (STB) in 2020 that uncovered railcars, including those carrying coal, could not be regulated on a state-by-state basis under NPDES because railroads cross state lines.^[26]