Newport News City Council

To read more about local regulations (such as limitations on regulatory power) around coal dust, see Local Regulations.

Map showing the local jurisdictions the Hampton Roads region, with the City of Newport News in purple and the three coal terminals marked.

To read about Norfolk City Council, see: Norfolk City Council

The Newport News City Council (NNCC) is the elected legislative body that governs Newport News, Virginia. Operating under a council-manager form of government, the Council includes a mayor and six other members who are responsible for setting municipal policy, passing local laws, approving budgets, and overseeing land use and development. The Council wields considerable influence over issues related to economic development, environmental regulation, and public health, making it a key player in addressing community concerns about coal dust pollution. It also has jurisdiction over two of the three coal terminals in the Port of Virginia, Dominion Terminal Associates and the Kinder Morgan Terminal.

Council Members (in 2025)

• Mayor: Phillip Jones (Term: Jan 01 2023 - Dec 31 2026)
• Vice Mayor: Curtis D. Bethany III (Jan 01 2023 - Dec 31 2026)
• Councilman Robert Coleman (Jan 01 2025 - Dec 31 2028)
• Councilman John R. Eley III (Jan 01 2023 - Dec 31 2026)
• Councilman Marcellus L. Harris III, D. Div. (Jan 01 2025 - Dec 31 2028)
• Councilman Cleon M. Long, P.E. (Jan 01 2023 - Dec 31 2026)
• Councilwoman Tina L. Vick (Jan 01 2025 - Dec 31 2028)

Relevant Meetings

The city council has heard numerous complains about coal dust, and listened to activist solutions of coal dust mitigation. Further records are available on their site.

All council meetings are open to the public (but not all allow public comment). Placards, banners, and signs are banned at meetings. “Citizen comments on matters germane to the business of city council” are allowed as part of the prescribed agenda on every regular meeting, but not special meetings or work session meetings.

Sept 12, 2023

January 23, 2024

• 9 citizen comments total (5 were about the coal dust)
  • Ms. Yugonda Sample-Jones: strongly recommended that City Council encourage Dominion Terminal Associates, LLP to explore and implement effective measures such as a wind fence or domes to mitigate the spread of the coal dust
  • Mr. Malcom Jones: urged City Council to take advantage of the opportunity to take environmental justice seriously for the legacy of the residents’ future for families and children, who all deserved quality of life
  • Interjection from Mayor Jones: noted money from Inflation Reduction Act and EPA Community Change Grants
  • Captain Patrick Wright: advised that positive action to protect the health of citizens and the environment should be taken.
  • Ms. Ann Creasy: urged members of City Council to pursue any available pathways to address coal dust in Hampton Roads. She advised that she worked for the Sierra Club, who had submitted a petition to the EPA to enact stricter regulations regarding coal pollution from open-top rail cars which transported coal in larger open top rail cars which deposited coal into waterways.
  • Reverend Lathaniel Kirts: mentioned high asthma rates and urged City Council to fight for the citizens by providing sensible regulations on Kinder Morgan coal terminals and Dominion Terminal Associates, LLP.

September 26, 2011

• Introduced the Southeast Community plan, which acknowledges coal dust as one of the primary environmental challenges in the community.

Documents

Newport News City Council. Regular Meeting Minutes. January 23, 2024.

Captain Wright, P. COAL and the SOUTHEAST COMMUNITY of NEWPORT NEWS. January 23, 2024.