Timeline

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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 from residents of West Ghent and other types of pollution.[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 impacts 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 dust.[9]

1990s

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 appears to be lost.

2010s

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.[12]
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.[13][14]
In 2015, the Southeast CARE Coalition petitions the VA DEQ to install regulatory air monitors in Southeast Newport News.[15][16][17]
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.[18]
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.[19][20][21]
In 2017, New Virginia Majority and Sierra Club Virginia Chapter call for Norfolk Southern to cover its coal cars.[22][23]
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.[22]

2020s

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.[25]

Resources and Materials: See for Yourself and Dig Deeper

Sources

  1. ↑ Railroads of Port Adopt Coal Sprinkle: Growing Demand for Sprinkled Coal Said to Be Made by Trans-Shippers, Daily Press, November 23, 1927.
  2. ↑ Newport News to Analyze Smoke and Soot Nuisance in Garden-Shores Sector, Daily Press, April 4, 1954.
  3. ↑ Council, Daily Press, December 4, 1956.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 C&O to Install Costly Equipment for Control of Air Pollution in NN, Daily Press, December 12, 1956.
  5. ↑ Building Code to Be Used for Air Pollution, Ledger-Dispatch and Star, September 12, 1956.
  6. ↑ Murry, Coal Dust Causes Concern (Continued from Page C1), Daily Press, January 27, 1985.
  7. ↑ Matthews, Coal Dust Unsettles Residents: Tenants Group Write Governor, Daily Press, May 24, 1984.
  8. ↑ Stewart et al., Control of Fugitive Emissions from Open Coal Storage in Newport News, Virginia, Virginia State Air Pollution Control Board, 1987.
  9. ↑ Air Pollution Control Board Meeting Minutes, Digitized, 1977–1987.
  10. ↑ Report of the Joint Subcommittee Studying Ways to Reduce Emissions from Coal-Carrying Railroad Cars, Senate Document No. 58, Commonwealth of Virginia, Richmond, 1994.
  11. ↑ Carbon Reduction Strategies and Environmental Justice in Virginia, Virginia Environmental Justice Collaborative, EO 57 Working Group Meeting, February 28, 2017.
  12. ↑ Lawlor, Studying the Southeast, Daily Press, February 2, 2012.
  13. ↑ Grimes, Coalition to Hold Programs on Health, Daily Press, July 4, 2013.
  14. ↑ Salasky, Forums and Flue Shots, Daily Press, September 28, 2013.
  15. ↑ Clift, What's in Air in the City's Southeast?, Daily Press, June 3, 2015.
  16. ↑ Clift, Southeast Petition Get 1000 Signatures, Daily Press, October 30, 2015.
  17. ↑ Clift, Air Petition Delivered to State Leaders, Daily Press, December 4, 2015.
  18. ↑ Salasky, Asthma Continued from Page 1, Daily Press, August 20, 2015.
  19. ↑ Neighbors Complain of Train's Coal Dust, The News and Advance, April 26, 2015.
  20. ↑ Norfolk Southern Coal Dust Spurs Worry, Richmond Times-Dispatch, April 25, 2015.
  21. ↑ Neighbors Complain of Coal Dust, Danville Register and Bee, April 25, 2015.
  22. ↑ 22.0 22.1 Barksdale, How a Devastating Air Pollution Problem Created a Black Activist-Led Movement in a Virginia Town, Vice, October 11, 2017.
  23. ↑ Geiling, 'This is a matter of life and death': A Virginia community choking on coal dust pleads for help, Think Progress, March 15, 2018.
  24. ↑ Fields et al., Practicing Repair: Advancing Community-Based Solutions on Coal Dust Pollution in Hampton Roads, Virginia through a Practitioner-in-Residence Program, Environmental Justice, 2024.
  25. ↑ Petition For Rulemaking: To Establish Nationwide National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System Permit for Uncovered Railcars Transporting Coal Pursuant to 33 U.S.C. § 1342(A), 2023.
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