Coal dust complaints
A Public Record of Complaints
Residents and business owners have made formal and informal complaints about coal dust on the record since at least the 1970s. Complaints cover a range of impacts, including health concerns, expenses for added maintenance and coal dust removal costs, and the annoyance of needing to clean the dust incessantly.
We count least twenty independent complaints by residents before City Councils in Newport News and Norfolk since 2023 and many more submitted to the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (VA DEQ) since the agency formed in 1994. Prior to that, there are at least four instances of formal complaints reported to the Virginia Air Pollution Control Board.
These complaints serve as evidence of coal dust impacts over time and are potentially a starting point for tracing institutional change and/or negligence.
Documents
- 1987 Air Pollution Control Board meeting minutes - coal dust complaint from Bev Mann
- 1990-2006 DEQ coal dust complaints (folder)
- 11/3/2021 Newport News Planning Commission - individual coal dust complaint
- 2021 Southeast Community Meeting - individual coal dust complaint
- 2023 Newport News City Council - several individual coal dust complaints
- 2024 Coal Dust Kills testimonials