I Have A Bad Feeling

I have a sinking feeling these Virginia budget negotiations are about to deliver exactly what the Dominion Energy lobby ordered.

The first red flag was that cute little checkbox on the Governor’s survey: “local zoning authority” listed as one of the annoying obstacles to energy infrastructure. How thoughtful of them to pre-load the excuse.

I spoke at Senator Lucas’s Data Center Listening Tour tonight in Richmond. She’s out there trying to claw back the $1.7 billion tax giveaway these data centers enjoy, and on that narrow point, I commend her. In my two minutes I pointed out the obvious: every time a locality rolls out the red carpet for these things, the next step is eminent domain for massive transmission lines across private property. I mentioned the Valley Link disaster specifically and asked the senators (Lucas, Jones, and Locke were all there) not to let any last-minute budget language quietly gut local authority over substation siting.

Up until that sentence, they were nodding along like concerned adults. The second I said “substation authority,” their faces changed. They looked at each other, one of them actually raised a finger like they’d been waiting for the cue. That little theater routine told me everything I needed to know.

I caught Senator Lucas afterward and reminded her that local zoning power is the only real leverage communities still have. She heard me. Whether she plans to do anything about it remains to be seen.

If you still think your state senator or delegate gives a damn, call them and tell them to keep their hands off local siting authority in this budget bill. No quiet carve-outs, no “technical corrections,” no backroom favors dressed up as compromise.

And if you’re going to any of the other stops on Lucas’s tour, bring it up. They’re doing one in Goochland; I don’t have the location yet, but someone should show up and ask the same question. Perhaps Lee Halvorsen is available ?

P.S. I gave Senator Lucas two “Block Valley Link” car magnets. One for her, one for the Governor’s limo. She took them. We’ll see where they end up.

#BlockValleyLink