There’s Something Rotten in Richmond: Condemnation for Private Profit

(Glen Besa is Virginia Chapter Director of the Sierra Club. – promoted by lowkell)

Just yesterday, Governor Bob McDonnell announced that he was throwing more state money at the Coalfields Expressway in Southwest Virginia, a boondoggle road project of the first order.  Worse yet it is an abuse of the state government’s power of condemnation to benefit coal companies like Alpha Natural Resources. Local property owners will see their land condemned so that coal companies can get at the coal under their land using the pretense of building a road.  Governor McDonnell is directing VDOT to condemn land for the benefit of private coal companies.  

The proof of this abuse is evident in the Governor’s announcement in which he discloses that the developer of the Coalfields Expressway is not a highway contractor but the coal company Alpha Natural Resources. It is also important to note that Alpha Natural Resources made over $270,000 in campaign contributions in 2011, $192,000 to Republicans including $50,000 to Governor McDonnell’s Opportunity Virginia PAC and $77,000 to Democrats.  This is the kind of shameful abuse and back dealing that erodes public confidence in the integrity of government.

For additional details see here.

Glen Besa