Six activists from Blue Ridge Earth First, Rising Tide North America, and Nuclear Watch South, were arrested for taking over and refusing to leave the Dominion Power’s North Anna nuclear visitor center in Mineral, Virginia.
The protest, inspired by the ideology and teachings of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., is intended as a demand to stop plans for the construction of a third reactor at the North Anna power station in Lake Anna.
A spokesperson for Dominion Power said the protest was not peaceful. “About 25 people came in and gave themselves a self-guided tour of the visitor center,” he says. At about 4:05pm the staff at the visitor center informed the activists that they needed to close the facility. “At that point, my staff was informed that the protestors intended to be arrested and refused to leave the premises,” he says. “Dominion Power respects peaceful protest, but we don’t condone illegal acts such as refusing to leave. That’s when we called the county sheriff.”
The six protesters were taken to the Louisa County Sheriff’s office and await processing.
As the C-VILLE previously reported, opposition arose when the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission issued a permit for the utility company to start clearing the land and prep the area where the reactor will be built.
In an earlier article, the C-VILLE reported that the Sierra Club and other environmental groups warned of possible legal actions against the issuance of the permit and the decision of the State Water Control Board to renew a permit that allows the North Anna power station to discharge water into Lake Anna at a higher temperature than the maximum of 90 degrees consented by the federal Clean Water Act.
To update, on April 28, the Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League filed a legal motion with the U.S. Regulatory Commission to postpone deadlines for the North Anna power station construction and operating license.
The North Anna power plant has recently been at the center of major disputes between environmental groups and the U.S. Regulatory Commission.