“The tons of muddy runoff escaping into the watershed below the new Essex County Solar Power Center is “an active enforcement case that will result in financial penalties,” said a spokesperson with the state Department of Environmental Quality.
Last night we showed you part of Sunday’s sediment runoffs from the 200-acre project by Coronal Energy of California just off Tidewater Trail and Muddy Gut Road. That 20-megawatt solar field will feed Dominion Energy’s grid.
The runoffs have been “severe,” said Wyn Davis, Essex County Building Official and Environmental Compliance Officer. “There’s not a soul in the county happy about this.”
The problem is clear. What went wrong isn’t.
The Department of Environmental Quality, which approved the design plan, will be investigating, said DEQ spokeswoman Ann Regn.
“Our regional office is monitoring the situation closely,” she said in a statement. (See full statement below.)
DEQ has issued multiple notices of violations in August and September, she said, and more are expected for more recent discharges into wetlands and streams.”
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Holmberg, Mark. Channel 6 News 9 February 2018.