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Protesters also demanded that the director of the Department of Environmental Quality investigate allegations that Dominion illegally dumped millions of gallons of coal-ash water into Quantico Creek last spring. (Photo: DyanneJaye/Twitter/cc.)
"Repeal Dominion's permits!" protesters shouted in unison on Monday during an hours-long occupation of the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) in Richmond. The state regulator has come under fire for issuing a permit to Dominion Power in January that will allow the utility company to release millions of gallons of toxic coal-ash water into local waterways.
Seventeen students were arrested at the DEQ occupation on Monday, according to the Virginia Student Environmental Coalition, which was behind the protests.
As the protest got underway, the coalition explained their action on EcoWatch: "Thirty-five students from the Virginia Student Environmental Coalition are refusing to leave the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality's (DEQ) lobby until the director, David Paylor, complies with their demands regarding Dominion Resources' dumping of coal ash wastewater into the James River and Quantico Creek."
The group's demands were as follows:
1. The DEQ repeals the permits issued to Dominion to begin dumping coal ash wastewater from their Bremo and Possum Point power plants.
2. The current permits are re-issued only after an investigation into the 2015 dumping of untreated wastewater into Quantico Creek.
3. The permits for coal ash wastewater release are rewritten to comply with the best available technology standards, in accordance with the Clean Water Act and that a mechanism for independent third party monitoring is implemented.
\u201cClergy, musicians, students and concerned citizens gather to support 35 students occupying @VirginiaDEQ for #coalash\u201d— K. C. Crawford \ud83e\uddd8\ud83c\udffe\u200d\u2640\ufe0f (@K. C. Crawford \ud83e\uddd8\ud83c\udffe\u200d\u2640\ufe0f) 1457375355
The announcement of the DEQ's permit came less than a month after a damning report from local news site InsideNoVa.com that found the utility had illegally dumped millions of gallons of untreated water from toxic coal ash ponds from its Possum Point Power Plant into nearby Quantico Creek last spring.
The power company is attempting to clean up its coal ash ponds, bright turquoise pools of toxic byproduct leftover from burning coal for electricity, which Dominion ceased doing in 2003, according to the news site.
Power companies are moving away from burning coal as a result of growing national concern about climate change. The shift away from coal requires emptying the vast pools of wastewater that were created to contain the byproduct of the coal-burning process.
"Nearly every major river in the Southeast has one or more lagoons on its banks holding slurries of coal ash from power plants," the legal non-profit Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC) notes on its website, "containing hundreds of thousands of tons of toxin-laden waste, these pools are often unlined and have leaked arsenic, mercury, thallium, selenium, and other contaminants into the rivers and the underlying groundwater for years, if not decades."
"As part of the ongoing cleanup ahead of the eventual closure of five coal ash ponds at the Dumfries-area power plant, Dominion drained a total of 52.5 million gallons of untreated coal-ash water from one of those ponds last May," InsideNoVa.com reported, and "Dominion said the discharge of storm water was permitted under the utility's existing Virginia Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (VDPES) permit."
The report was not the first time Dominion has been accused of illegally releasing coal-ash water. The SELC has "uncovered decades of coal ash pollution leaking from two different Dominion Virginia Power sites: the Possum Point Power Plant along the Potomac River, and the Chesapeake Energy Center along the Elizabeth River," the legal non-profit says.
The permit issued on January 14 allows the utility to release coal-ash water from two power plants into the Potomac River and two tributaries, Quantico Creek and the James River.
"Dominion contends the coal ash wastewater it intends to discharge actually amounts to a thimble compared to the volume of water in the James and the Potomac," reported the News Virginian, "and that its treatment regimen will not harm marine life."
Richmond's StyleWeekly reported that "Dominion says it intends to build a wastewater treatment plant to process the wastewater before it goes into the James, although Department of Environmental Quality officials noted that the permits do not require the utility to do so."
StyleWeekly observed that the city of Richmond draws most of its drinking water from the James River.
During a public hearing for the permit, a nurse who lives near the James River told Dominion officials, "you are all domestic terrorists."
Trump and Musk are on an unconstitutional rampage, aiming for virtually every corner of the federal government. These two right-wing billionaires are targeting nurses, scientists, teachers, daycare providers, judges, veterans, air traffic controllers, and nuclear safety inspectors. No one is safe. The food stamps program, Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid are next. It’s an unprecedented disaster and a five-alarm fire, but there will be a reckoning. The people did not vote for this. The American people do not want this dystopian hellscape that hides behind claims of “efficiency.” Still, in reality, it is all a giveaway to corporate interests and the libertarian dreams of far-right oligarchs like Musk. Common Dreams is playing a vital role by reporting day and night on this orgy of corruption and greed, as well as what everyday people can do to organize and fight back. As a people-powered nonprofit news outlet, we cover issues the corporate media never will, but we can only continue with our readers’ support. |
"Repeal Dominion's permits!" protesters shouted in unison on Monday during an hours-long occupation of the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) in Richmond. The state regulator has come under fire for issuing a permit to Dominion Power in January that will allow the utility company to release millions of gallons of toxic coal-ash water into local waterways.
Seventeen students were arrested at the DEQ occupation on Monday, according to the Virginia Student Environmental Coalition, which was behind the protests.
As the protest got underway, the coalition explained their action on EcoWatch: "Thirty-five students from the Virginia Student Environmental Coalition are refusing to leave the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality's (DEQ) lobby until the director, David Paylor, complies with their demands regarding Dominion Resources' dumping of coal ash wastewater into the James River and Quantico Creek."
The group's demands were as follows:
1. The DEQ repeals the permits issued to Dominion to begin dumping coal ash wastewater from their Bremo and Possum Point power plants.
2. The current permits are re-issued only after an investigation into the 2015 dumping of untreated wastewater into Quantico Creek.
3. The permits for coal ash wastewater release are rewritten to comply with the best available technology standards, in accordance with the Clean Water Act and that a mechanism for independent third party monitoring is implemented.
\u201cClergy, musicians, students and concerned citizens gather to support 35 students occupying @VirginiaDEQ for #coalash\u201d— K. C. Crawford \ud83e\uddd8\ud83c\udffe\u200d\u2640\ufe0f (@K. C. Crawford \ud83e\uddd8\ud83c\udffe\u200d\u2640\ufe0f) 1457375355
The announcement of the DEQ's permit came less than a month after a damning report from local news site InsideNoVa.com that found the utility had illegally dumped millions of gallons of untreated water from toxic coal ash ponds from its Possum Point Power Plant into nearby Quantico Creek last spring.
The power company is attempting to clean up its coal ash ponds, bright turquoise pools of toxic byproduct leftover from burning coal for electricity, which Dominion ceased doing in 2003, according to the news site.
Power companies are moving away from burning coal as a result of growing national concern about climate change. The shift away from coal requires emptying the vast pools of wastewater that were created to contain the byproduct of the coal-burning process.
"Nearly every major river in the Southeast has one or more lagoons on its banks holding slurries of coal ash from power plants," the legal non-profit Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC) notes on its website, "containing hundreds of thousands of tons of toxin-laden waste, these pools are often unlined and have leaked arsenic, mercury, thallium, selenium, and other contaminants into the rivers and the underlying groundwater for years, if not decades."
"As part of the ongoing cleanup ahead of the eventual closure of five coal ash ponds at the Dumfries-area power plant, Dominion drained a total of 52.5 million gallons of untreated coal-ash water from one of those ponds last May," InsideNoVa.com reported, and "Dominion said the discharge of storm water was permitted under the utility's existing Virginia Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (VDPES) permit."
The report was not the first time Dominion has been accused of illegally releasing coal-ash water. The SELC has "uncovered decades of coal ash pollution leaking from two different Dominion Virginia Power sites: the Possum Point Power Plant along the Potomac River, and the Chesapeake Energy Center along the Elizabeth River," the legal non-profit says.
The permit issued on January 14 allows the utility to release coal-ash water from two power plants into the Potomac River and two tributaries, Quantico Creek and the James River.
"Dominion contends the coal ash wastewater it intends to discharge actually amounts to a thimble compared to the volume of water in the James and the Potomac," reported the News Virginian, "and that its treatment regimen will not harm marine life."
Richmond's StyleWeekly reported that "Dominion says it intends to build a wastewater treatment plant to process the wastewater before it goes into the James, although Department of Environmental Quality officials noted that the permits do not require the utility to do so."
StyleWeekly observed that the city of Richmond draws most of its drinking water from the James River.
During a public hearing for the permit, a nurse who lives near the James River told Dominion officials, "you are all domestic terrorists."
"Repeal Dominion's permits!" protesters shouted in unison on Monday during an hours-long occupation of the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) in Richmond. The state regulator has come under fire for issuing a permit to Dominion Power in January that will allow the utility company to release millions of gallons of toxic coal-ash water into local waterways.
Seventeen students were arrested at the DEQ occupation on Monday, according to the Virginia Student Environmental Coalition, which was behind the protests.
As the protest got underway, the coalition explained their action on EcoWatch: "Thirty-five students from the Virginia Student Environmental Coalition are refusing to leave the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality's (DEQ) lobby until the director, David Paylor, complies with their demands regarding Dominion Resources' dumping of coal ash wastewater into the James River and Quantico Creek."
The group's demands were as follows:
1. The DEQ repeals the permits issued to Dominion to begin dumping coal ash wastewater from their Bremo and Possum Point power plants.
2. The current permits are re-issued only after an investigation into the 2015 dumping of untreated wastewater into Quantico Creek.
3. The permits for coal ash wastewater release are rewritten to comply with the best available technology standards, in accordance with the Clean Water Act and that a mechanism for independent third party monitoring is implemented.
\u201cClergy, musicians, students and concerned citizens gather to support 35 students occupying @VirginiaDEQ for #coalash\u201d— K. C. Crawford \ud83e\uddd8\ud83c\udffe\u200d\u2640\ufe0f (@K. C. Crawford \ud83e\uddd8\ud83c\udffe\u200d\u2640\ufe0f) 1457375355
The announcement of the DEQ's permit came less than a month after a damning report from local news site InsideNoVa.com that found the utility had illegally dumped millions of gallons of untreated water from toxic coal ash ponds from its Possum Point Power Plant into nearby Quantico Creek last spring.
The power company is attempting to clean up its coal ash ponds, bright turquoise pools of toxic byproduct leftover from burning coal for electricity, which Dominion ceased doing in 2003, according to the news site.
Power companies are moving away from burning coal as a result of growing national concern about climate change. The shift away from coal requires emptying the vast pools of wastewater that were created to contain the byproduct of the coal-burning process.
"Nearly every major river in the Southeast has one or more lagoons on its banks holding slurries of coal ash from power plants," the legal non-profit Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC) notes on its website, "containing hundreds of thousands of tons of toxin-laden waste, these pools are often unlined and have leaked arsenic, mercury, thallium, selenium, and other contaminants into the rivers and the underlying groundwater for years, if not decades."
"As part of the ongoing cleanup ahead of the eventual closure of five coal ash ponds at the Dumfries-area power plant, Dominion drained a total of 52.5 million gallons of untreated coal-ash water from one of those ponds last May," InsideNoVa.com reported, and "Dominion said the discharge of storm water was permitted under the utility's existing Virginia Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (VDPES) permit."
The report was not the first time Dominion has been accused of illegally releasing coal-ash water. The SELC has "uncovered decades of coal ash pollution leaking from two different Dominion Virginia Power sites: the Possum Point Power Plant along the Potomac River, and the Chesapeake Energy Center along the Elizabeth River," the legal non-profit says.
The permit issued on January 14 allows the utility to release coal-ash water from two power plants into the Potomac River and two tributaries, Quantico Creek and the James River.
"Dominion contends the coal ash wastewater it intends to discharge actually amounts to a thimble compared to the volume of water in the James and the Potomac," reported the News Virginian, "and that its treatment regimen will not harm marine life."
Richmond's StyleWeekly reported that "Dominion says it intends to build a wastewater treatment plant to process the wastewater before it goes into the James, although Department of Environmental Quality officials noted that the permits do not require the utility to do so."
StyleWeekly observed that the city of Richmond draws most of its drinking water from the James River.
During a public hearing for the permit, a nurse who lives near the James River told Dominion officials, "you are all domestic terrorists."
A spokesperson for the news agency said the ruling "affirms the fundamental right of the press and public to speak freely without government retaliation."
A federal judge appointed by U.S. President Donald Trump during his first term ruled Tuesday that the White House cannot cut off The Associated Press' access to the Republican leader because of the news agency's refusal to use his preferred name for the Gulf of Mexico.
"About two months ago, President Donald Trump renamed the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of America. The Associated Press did not follow suit. For that editorial choice, the White House sharply curtailed the AP's access to coveted, tightly controlled media events with the president," wrote Judge Trevor N. McFadden, who is based in Washington, D.C.
Specifically, according to the news outlet, "the AP has been blocked since February 11 from being among the small group of journalists to cover Trump in the Oval Office or aboard Air Force One, with sporadic ability to cover him at events in the East Room."
The AP responded to the restrictions by suing White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, Deputy Chief of Staff Taylor Budowich, and Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, "seeking a preliminary injunction enjoining the government from excluding it because of its viewpoint," McFadden noted in his 41-page order. "Today, the court grants that relief."
The judge explained that "this injunction does not limit the various permissible reasons the government may have for excluding journalists from limited-access events. It does not mandate that all eligible journalists, or indeed any journalists at all, be given access to the president or nonpublic government spaces. It does not prohibit government officials from freely choosing which journalists to sit down with for interviews or which ones' questions they answer. And it certainly does not prevent senior officials from publicly expressing their own views."
"The court simply holds that under the First Amendment, if the government opens its doors to some journalists—be it to the Oval Office, the East Room, or elsewhere—it cannot then shut those doors to other journalists because of their viewpoints," he stressed. "The Constitution requires no less."
McFadden blocked his own order from taking effect before next week, giving the Trump administration time to respond or appeal. Still, AP spokesperson Lauren Easton said Tuesday that "we are gratified by the court's decision."
"Today’s ruling affirms the fundamental right of the press and public to speak freely without government retaliation," Easton added. "This is a freedom guaranteed for all Americans in the U.S. Constitution."
NPR reported that "an AP reporter and photographer were turned back from joining a reporting pool on a presidential motorcade early Tuesday evening, almost two hours after the decision came down."
"The AEA has only ever been a power invoked in time of war, and plainly only applies to warlike actions," the lawsuit asserts.
The ACLU and allied groups filed a lawsuit Tuesday in a bid to stop U.S. President Donald Trump from "abusing the Alien Enemies Act"—an 18th-century law only ever invoked during wartime—to deport foreign nationals to a prison in El Salvador with allegedly rampant human rights abuses.
According to a statement, the ACLU and New York Civil Liberties Union, "in partnership with the Legal Aid Society whose clients are plaintiffs in the litigation, filed an emergency lawsuit this morning in federal court in New York to again halt removals under the Alien Enemies Act (AEA) for people within that court's judicial district."
The lawsuit—which names Trump, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and other officials as plaintiffs—follows Monday's 5-4 U.S. Supreme Court
ruling that largely reversed a lower court's decision blocking the deportation of Venezuelan nationals to the notorious Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT) prison in El Salvador.
BREAKING: Today the NYCLU and @aclu.org filed an emergency lawsuit to ensure the Trump administration does not deport people under the Alien Enemies Act without due process. No one should face the horrifying prospect of lifelong imprisonment without a fair hearing, let alone in another country.
— NYCLU (@nyclu.org) April 8, 2025 at 11:00 AM
While the high court said the Trump administration can resume deportations under the 1798 AEA, the justices included the caveat that people subject to such removals must be afforded due process under the law.
"The AEA has only ever been a power invoked in time of war, and plainly only applies to warlike actions," the ACLU argued in the new lawsuit. "It cannot be used here against nationals of a country—Venezuela—with whom the United States is not at war, which is not invading the United States, and which has not launched a predatory incursion into the United States."
Not only has Trump sent foreign nationals—including at least one wrongfully deported man—to CECOT, he has also floated the idea of sending U.S. citizens there at the invitation of right-wing Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele, who is scheduled to visit the White House next week.
This, despite widespread reports of serious human rights violations at the facility and throughout El Salvador in general.
"The administration is shattering what little trust remains between immigrant communities and the government and putting critical revenue streams at risk," said one critic.
Migrant and privacy rights advocates this week are sounding the alarm over a deal signed by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to hand sensitive taxpayer data over to immigration authorities as part of U.S. President Donald Trump's mass deportation effort.
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) have entered into a memorandum of understanding (MOU) "to establish a clear and secure process to support law enforcement's efforts to combat illegal immigration," a Treasury Department spokesperson told Fox News, which reported on the development after a late Monday court filing.
"The bases for this MOU are founded in long-standing authorities granted by Congress, which serve to protect the privacy of law-abiding Americans while streamlining the ability to pursue criminals," the spokesperson said. "After four years of [former President] Joe Biden flooding the nation with illegal aliens, President Trump's highest priority is to ensure the safety of the American people."
After weeks of warnings about a potential data transfer deal, it was revealed as part of a legal case brought by Centro de Trabajadores Unidos, Immigrant Solidarity DuPage, Inclusive Action for the City, and Somos Un Pueblo Unido, which are represented by Alan Morrison, Public Citizen Litigation Group, and Raise the Floor Alliance.
"Taxpayer privacy is a cornerstone of the U.S. tax system," Public Citizen co-president Lisa Gilbert said in a Tuesday statement. "This move by the IRS is an unprecedented breach of taxpayer privacy laws and confidentiality, which has been respected by both political parties for decades."
"The Trump administration's terror tactic of using immigrants' tax data against them will drive some of our most vulnerable communities further underground," she warned. "If this taxpayer information isn't safe from the prying eyes of the Trump administration's goons, then no one's taxpayer information is safe."
Juliette Kayyem, a former Department of Homeland Security official now lecturing at the Harvard Kennedy School, wrote on social media: "Bad policy. Bad economics. And cruel. They are so desperate to get their deportation numbers up that they are doing this."
Multiple members of Congress also blasted the move. Rep. Jimmy Gomez (D-Calif.) said that "the IRS should NEVER be weaponized to target immigrant families. This backdoor deal with ICE shatters decades of trust—and may be illegal."
"I will fight this with everything I've got," vowed Gomez, a member of the House Ways and Means Committee. "No one should fear that filing taxes puts their family at risk."
Congressman Joaquin Castro (D-Texas) was among the critics who emphasized that the MOU doesn't just affect migrants.
"First things first: The impact of folks not filing their taxes because they are afraid of deportation would be detrimental to our economy," he explained. "Two: Immigrants pay taxes but do not benefit from the social programs that most taxpayers do. Three: Everyone should be concerned about the privacy implications here. This sets the precedent that the federal government can arbitrarily share your personal information with law enforcement. And it's just wrong."
Rep. Juan Vargas (D-Calif.) similarly said: "For decades, undocumented immigrants have trusted the IRS when it encouraged them to file. They've paid taxes in good faith, contributing nearly $100 BILLION per year and supporting social services they can't even access. Not only is this a total betrayal, but it's also illegal. We'll fight this."
The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy also highlighted that "turning the IRS away from its job (collecting taxes) to instead focus on mass deportation efforts will mean less tax revenue collected on top of the harm done to families and communities affected by deportations."
In response to The New York Times' reporting on the deal, American Immigration Council senior fellow Aaron Reichlin-Melnick pointed out on social media that the MOU "is, on its face, limited to criminal investigations (not deportation investigations)."
"There are many questions raised about this new [agreement], which seems to violate previous understandings of the laws requiring IRS not to share taxpayer information," he continued. "But at its heart it does not seem that the MOU permits ICE to ask for taxpayer data for deportation reasons."
"It seems primarily to be aimed at criminal investigations for willful failure to depart after the issuance of a removal order, a crime on the books which (until now) is virtually never prosecuted," Reichlin-Melnick added. "Despite the fact that this MOU is limited only to criminal law enforcement, it will likely have a chilling effect on undocumented taxpayers."
How the Trump administration actually proceeds remains to be seen. The court filing says no information has been shared between the agenices yet—but the deal comes as part of a wave of anti-immigrant policies and rhetoric from the president and his officials.
"With the Supreme Court greenlighting Trump's use of the Alien Enemies Act and the administration now gaining access to sensitive IRS data, we continue to slip into a new era of authoritarianism in America," Beatriz Lopez, co-executive director of the Immigration Hub, said a Tuesday statement "The digital and physical dragnets that Trump is building mean millions of immigrants—many of whom have followed the law and paid their taxes for decades—are now vulnerable to indiscriminate brutality and quiet erasure with little opportunity for redress."
Lopez stressed that "undocumented immigrants already contribute billions to our economy—often paying a higher effective tax rate than 55 major corporations and some of the wealthiest individuals in America. By weaponizing private taxpayer data, the administration is shattering what little trust remains between immigrant communities and the government and putting critical revenue streams at risk."
"Coupled with Trump's xenophobic tariff threats and a $350 billion demand to fund mass disappearances and deportations, this is more than an attack on immigrants—it's a calculated effort to destabilize the country and remake its image," she concluded. "Congress must reject this funding and the authoritarian playbook behind it. This is not policy. It's punishment."