Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, December 15, 1993 TAG: 9403180043
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: A11 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: SHIREEN PARSONS
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
In one of 10 points, the universities agree to "set an example of environmental responsibility by establishing programs of resource conservation, recycling, and waste reduction at the universities."
Virginia Tech's former President James McComas signed the Talloires Declaration, but the university has not taken action to reflect the spirit of the agreement. Tech has no policy for resource conservation, waste reduction or environmental protection.
Tech now proposes to add a new coal-fired boiler to the 10 existing boilers at its power plant for the purpose of steam heat. Expansion of the power plant would add to the air pollution created by the antiquated existing boilers, which are so old they don't have to meet current clean-air regulations. The new boiler would have the capacity to burn 5.5 tons of coal per hour.
The Department of Environmental Quality's permitting process considers only the emissions from the proposed unit, not the entire power plant. Need for the new unit is not considered, nor is the feasibility of using natural gas, a much cleaner-burning fuel.
The new unit would cost an estimated $8.5 million. Is this expenditure necessary? Walk into any building on campus - the heat will be on full blast, the temperature will be 75 to 80 degrees, and the doors and windows will be open.
At a time when universities are beset by budget cuts and accused of misspending the taxpayers' money, and students face stiff tuition increases, Tech has an obligation to examine every alternative to this project.
Perhaps it would be possible, through energy conservation, to eliminate the need for the new boiler and, instead, to spend the estimated $1.5 million required to fit the existing boilers with pollution controls. This would be appreciated by the students, faculty and staff, and those who live and work in Blacksburg, who are all too familiar with the smell and grit spewed into the air by the power plant.
Tech should not proceed with this project until its officials have analyzed the efficiency of the current system and developed a strict policy for resource conservation. To consider expansion without first implementing a conservation program violates the Talloires Declaration.
It is the right of the students, the surrounding community and the state's taxpayers to be informed as to the need for the new unit (after implementation of conservation measures), why coal was chosen instead of natural gas, how the coal would be transported and where it would be stored, proposed emission controls, pollution-control measures used on the existing boilers, and a cost comparison for the construction, maintenance and operation of coal and natural-gas boilers.
Virginia Tech is funded by the taxpayers of Virginia, who should be fully informed of activities that would affect human health, the environment and the expenditure of tax dollars.
Shireen Parsons is chairwoman of the Sierra Club New River Group.
by CNB