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Welcome to Voices in the Dust––a living, community archive for action supporting current and future activists in the fight against coal dust pollution and for environmental justice in Southeast Newport News and Lambert's Point, Norfolk. Voices in the Dust is a work in progress.

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Visual Table of Contents

Timeline of Key Events in Coal Dust Activism

1880s

• 1881: The Chesapeake and Ohio Railway (C&O) was extended from Richmond to Newport News to transport coal mined in West Virginia to reach the harbor of Hampton Roads.
• 1883: The first railcar loaded with bituminous coal arrived in Norfolk via the Norfolk & Western Railway (now Norfolk Southern).
• 1886: The train tracks were extended to the coal piers near Lambert's Point.

1920s

• 1927: The Newport News Daily Press describes the use of sprinklers to "minimize damage and discomfort arising from large quantities of coal dust in the air."

1950s

• 1954: The Garden-Shores Civic League write a letter to the City of Newport News complaining about coal dust pollution believed to be "uncombusted coal blown from the railways' two coal dumping piers."
• 1956: The City of Newport News hires a chemical engineering firm to measure the amount of coal in airborne particles, who find that at least in one location 45% of airborne dust was coal.
• 1956: This air monitoring study prompts the Chesapeake and Ohio (C&O) Railroad Company to install equipment to create a water fog over the coal piers to suppress dust and led the Newport News City Council to pass an air pollution ordinance.

1970s

• Jessie Rattley, the first Black mayor of Newport News, and other local leaders have discussions around coal dust mitigation.
• Linwood DeBrew and community members begin organizing around coal dust pollution issues.

=== 1980s ===

Daily Press: A leading activist for coal dust mitigation in the 1980s, Mrs. Louise Bazemore is photographed displaying the coal dust she cleaned from inside her Ridley Circle home.

• The City of Newport News overturns its air pollution ordinance.
• Community activism in Southeast Newport News and residents' complaints to Virginia Air Pollution Control Board (APCB) led the APCB to conduct additional research on the factors that influenced coal dust emissions and develop a wet suppression approach that was more effective.
• The first recorded complaint from Lambert's Point, Norfolk.
• Dust suppressing sprinkler systems are installed at coal terminals in response to community concerns.
• The Virginia Air Pollution Control Board begins monitoring airborne coal dust and takes initial steps to regulate coal dust emissions.

1990s

• The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (VA DEQ) is formally established in In 1990, with coal dust regulation becoming a priority issue.
• Representative Dick Cranwell sponsors a bill requiring Norfolk Southern to report air quality and coal dust emissions.
• The 1993 RISE, Inc. v. Kay lawsuit challenges a landfill siting in King and Queen County citing environmental racism, further shaping the conversation around environmental justice in Virginia.

2000s

• The Southeast Community Action for a Renewed Environment (CARE) Coalition, then led by Dr. Erica Holloman, Linwood DeBrew, and Angela Harris, intensifies organizing efforts around coal dust pollution and environmental racism in Southeast Newport News.
• In 2002, the Southeast CARE Coalition formally pushes for investigations into the health impacts of coal dust, collaborating with the U.S. EPA.

2010s

• The Southeast CARE Coalition and U.S. EPA report is released: A Collaborative Effort to Assess Environmental Health in Newport News, Virginia
• Increased activism in Lambert's Point under the slogan Cover the Coal, led by New Virginia Majority and the Sierra Club Virginia Chapter, and supported by academic researchers like Dr. Anna Jeng from Old Dominion University, highlights the need for stronger air quality monitoring and regulatory measures.
• Planning grants are secured to explore coal dust solutions; coal dust-related petitions are circulated.

2020s

• In 2020, the Virginia Environmental Justice Act is passed, with the state government committing to integrate environmental justice principles into decision-making.
• The VA DEQ secures funding for the Tidewater Air Monitoring Evaluation (TAME) to track coal dust levels in Southeast Newport News and Lambert's Point in 2020, with data collection yet to start.
• The Repair Lab Coal Dust Kills effort begins interviewing residents affected by coal dust pollution in Southeast Newport News and Lambert's Point, monitoring ambient dust concentrations, and sampling dust inside residents home to identify evidence of coal dust exposure.
• In 2024, Adrian Wood releases Crosswinds, a multi-episode podcast exploring the coal dust issues through the friendship of local activists, Lathaniel Kirts and Malcolm Jones.
• The Repair Lab and African American History Society of Newport News begin work on a digital archive documenting decades of coal dust activism and environmental justice efforts in Virginia.

History

• Harbor Homes and Dickerson Court and Their Demolition
• Institutionalization of Environmental Justice in Virginia
• Lambert's Point, Norfolk
• Southeast Newport News

Evidence

Testimonials

• Official Complaints
• Interviews and Oral Histories
• News and Other Media
• Hampton Roads Oral History Project

Research

• Air Monitoring (General)
• Air Monitoring (Local)
• Health Impacts: Particles and Coal Dust (General)
• Tidewater Air Monitoring Evaluation (TAME)
• VOICES Network: Voices Organizing In opposition to Coal dust with Environmental Sensing

Actors

Regulatory Agencies

• U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
• Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (VA DEQ)
• Virginia Department of Health (VDH)
• Virginia Air Pollution Control Board

Government Bodies

• Newport News City Council
• Norfolk City Council
• Virginia State Legislature (Also Known as the General Assembly)
• Virginia Council on Environmental Justice (Formerly Known as the Environmental Justice Advisory Board)

Community and Activist Organizations

• East End Coalition
• Empower All
• New Virginia Majority
• Repair Lab
• Sierra Club Virginia Chapter
• Southeast CARE Coalition

Industries

• Railroads in Hampton Roads
• Coal Terminals in the Port of Virginia
• Coal Companies

Solutions

• Wet Dust Suppression
• Railcar Covers and Lids
• Wind Fences, Domes, and Tree Barriers

Policy

• Federal Policy
  • Regulations on Railroads (FRA and STC)
  • The Clean Air Act
• Virginia State Regulations
  • Federal and State Terminal Permits
  • Joint Subcommittee Studying Measures to Reduce Emissions from Coal-Carrying Railroad Cars
• Local Regulations
  • Norfolk City Council
  • Newport News City Council

Organizing

• Activism Outside of Hampton Roads
  • Oakland, CA
  • Baltimore, MD
• Campaigns and Initiatives in Hampton Roads
• Community Events

About Voices in the Dust and Getting Started

• Voices in the Dust
• Get Involved
• Editing the Archive: Style Guide for Voices In The Dust
• Creating Your Own Archive