A Richmond Circuit Court has revoked Dominion Virginia Power’s water quality permit for the North Anna nuclear power station, according to the Richmond Times-Dispatch. The decision could delay the construction of the third nuclear reactor in Louisa County.
According to Judge Margaret Spencer of Richmond Circuit Court, the water permit violated the federal Clean Water Act and remanded the permit to the Virginia State Water Control Board. A spokesman for Dominion tells the Times-Dispatch that the company will appeal the decision.
In 2007, the North Anna Power Station received a renewed permit to discharge warm water into Lake Anna to the dismay of environmental groups. The permit would allow the power plant to discharge water that is used for cooling nuclear reactors into the lake at over 90-degree maximum set by the federal Clean Water Act.
For more on the local controversy over nuclear power, check out C-VILLE’s 2006 cover story, "The greening of nuclear power."