Chesterfield Residents Appeal Dismissal, Demand Zoning Review for Dominion Gas Plant

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT: Glen Besa, Board Chair, Friends of Chesterfield

(804) 387-6001 | glenbesa@gmail.com

November 25, 2025

Chesterfield Residents Appeal Dismissal, Demand Zoning Review for Dominion Gas Plant

Chesterfield, VA — Three Chesterfield County residents filed their opening brief with the Virginia Court of Appeals yesterday. They are asking the Court to overturn a ruling that blocked their effort to require Dominion to apply for a conditional use permit from the County Board of Supervisors before constructing a new, 1000-megawatt methane gas plant, which Dominion calls the Chesterfield Energy Reliability Center.

County residents Duane Brankley, Glen Besa and Aliya Farooq originally petitioned the Chesterfield County Circuit Court because they were denied an opportunity to take part in a conditional use permit process for the new gas plant. Dominion claims it does not need a new permit and that an existing 2010 permit for the Chesterfield Power Station applies to this project.

Petitioners, counsel and supporters stand outside the Chesterfield County Courthouse following a Circuit Court hearing in the case of Brankley v Gillies in Chesterfield, VA, Wednesday May 25, 2025. [Front left and middle: Aliya Farooq and Glen Besa, petitioners. Front right: Claire Horan, counsel.]

“Chesterfield residents deserve a fair and lawful process, not a rubber stamp for Dominion’s newest gas project,” said Glen Besa, board chair of Friends of Chesterfield and a petitioner in the case. “The County shut the public out by letting Dominion hide behind a permit from 2010 that was written for a completely different facility. This appeal is about restoring the community’s right to be heard.”

Chesterfield County’s planning staff rejected residents’ attempts to contest Dominion’s reliance on that permit and refused to let the issue go before the County Board of Zoning Appeals. So, the petitioners asked the circuit court to either rule that Dominion needs a conditional use permit before building the new gas plant or to order the Board of Zoning Appeals to decide the issue.

The circuit court dismissed the case in July 2025 after finding none of the three petitioners had made sufficient allegations to demonstrate that they had standing to bring the lawsuit.

In their filing submitted to the Court of Appeals yesterday, the petitioners contend they have standing and that the circuit court overlooked their specific claims about how the construction and operation of the Chesterfield Energy Reliability Center would harm them, notably due to the increased air pollution they would face from living near the site. The petitioners are asking the Court of Appeals to reverse the dismissal and send the case back to the circuit court so it can proceed.

A hearing in the Court of Appeals is expected in 2026.

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Friends of Chesterfield is a community-based group in Chesterfield County dedicated to bringing residents together around the issues that impact our lives.