Governor Tim Kaine was at the Moores Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant groundbreaking ceremony yesterday to give his blessing and handle a golden shovel.
The governor said he chose to attend this event because he had “never done a wastewater treatment plant,” and wished to emphatically support “very aggressive river and stream clean-up.”
Kaine said that this construction will lead the plant to reduce its annual output of nitrogen by about 500,000 pounds, and phosphorous by 150,000 pounds. Phosphorous and nitrogen are especially dangerous to the environment, according to Kaine.
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Gov. Tim Kaine was the keynote speaker yesterday afternoon at the groundbreaking ceremony of the Moores Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant.
“I hope that this plant can serve as an example to others,” said Kaine, adding that in the past, Virginia has lagged to support the clean-up of waterways, particularly the Chesapeake Bay, but now the state is “about three times more” than other states.
Over the next 42 months, the Moores Creek facility will not only receive upgrades and expansion to reduce nitrogen and phosphorous output, but it will become a facility that will use waste taken from the water to power some of the plant’s operations.
The project will cost around $50 million, with $21.5 million coming from the state’s Water Quality Improvement Fund.
“[This plant] is not just good enough, but excellent,” said Kaine.