10/13/2025
Community Demands Immediate Enforcement Action Against Riverstone Solar for Multiple Special Use Permit Violations
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Dr. Scott Flood, president of Friends of Buckingham, Va. (757) 630-2255
Kenda Hanuman, Friends of Buckingham, Va Council member, (434) 969-1586
Date: October 13, 2025
Community Demands Immediate Enforcement Action Against Riverstone Solar for Multiple Special Use Permit Violations
County Administrator's Incomplete Report Fails to Address Documented Violations Threatening James River Water Quality and Public Safety
BUCKINGHAM COUNTY, VA — Buckingham County residents have formally called on the Board of Supervisors to issue an immediate Stop Work Order against Riverstone Solar after documenting multiple violations of the project’s Special Use Permit (SUP). Construction began in April 2025 on the 2,000-acre industrial solar facility developed by Apex Clean Energy on land owned by an out-of-state timber corporation. The project’s location less than a quarter mile from the James River underscores the seriousness of these violations, as the developer is destroying protected environmental buffers and violating public safety requirements. However, County Administrator Karl Carter’s September 29 report claimed no violations were found.
Months of Community Complaints Finally Prompt Investigation
For months, citizens have attended Board of Supervisors meetings documenting violations and demanding enforcement action. Only after persistent community complaints did supervisors finally charge county staff with investigating the issues and reporting back at the September 29 meeting.
County Administrator's Report Omits Critical Violations
However, Carter's resulting report addressed only selected issues while completely ignoring clear violations that had been documented and presented to the County, including:
Missing Wash Stations (Condition 21b): Required wash stations remain absent from project entrances despite photographic evidence provided to the County showing dirt tracked onto public roads. This violation was never mentioned in Carter's report, despite Condition 21(b) explicitly requiring "each project entrance will have a dedicated wash station to mitigate natural debris from unintentionally leaving the Project Area." Wash stations are the required prevention measure for the hazard of dirt on public roads.
Property Line Buffer Removal (Condition 13):
Carter's report dismissed the removal of mature timber along property lines by claiming the landowner did it and it wasn't "orchestrated" by Apex Clean Energy. However, once the SUP was approved, all land use activities on land permitted for solar development should have complied with SUP conditions. Any buffer removal after SUP approval violates permit conditions, regardless of who performed the work. The developer cannot distance itself from clearing activities on land under active development agreements with the landowner, a large out-of-state timber corporation.
Critical Environmental Violations Threaten James River Stream and Wetland Buffer Destruction:
Carter's report acknowledged stormwater controls in setbacks but failed to address the destruction of 50-foot vegetated buffers required by Condition 13 along streams and wetlands. The condition states the applicant "shall retain at least a fifty-foot buffer of existing vegetation and timber"—not that they may construct stormwater features there.
The project's streams and wetlands flow directly into the James River. At the February 2022 public hearing, minutes before the final vote to approve the SUP, Riverstone's representative explicitly promised to maintain these buffers as "vegetated filters" for water quality protection, directly comparing them to Chesapeake Bay Act protections and presenting them as essential water quality safeguards.
"These weren't casual remarks—these were formal assurances presented as core environmental protections in exchange for SUP approval," according to a detailed community response letter submitted to the County Attorney and copied to all supervisors, the county administrator, and zoning administrator. "Riverstone misrepresents Condition 12 and deliberately confuses setbacks and buffers to excuse its violation of Condition 13, which mandates preservation of 50-foot vegetated buffers."
The distinction is critical:
Condition 12 establishes a 50-foot setback and allows certain infrastructure within it. But Condition 13 separately requires preservation of "at least a fifty foot buffer of existing vegetation and timber" within that setback. The word "shall" creates a mandatory legal obligation—there is no discretion to remove these buffers.
"Riverstone's own practices prove they understand this distinction," the community letter states. "They maintain vegetative buffers within larger setbacks elsewhere on the property. They simply choose to ignore this requirement for environmental areas near streams and wetlands."
Systematic Future Violations in Approved Plans:
The County failed to address that the currently approved construction plans include buffer violations across the entire project site. With only 9 of more than 100 planned sediment basins constructed, the approved plans effectively guarantee large-scale future violations.
County Administrator Defends Developer, Minimizes Public Safety Violations
Carter's report minimized prohibited road usage by claiming "this issue may arise as some construction workers are not local and are following their GPS. I am sure their GPS is taking them to the most quickest route." This explanation fails to address Apex Clean Energy's responsibility to control all contractors and ensure compliance with Condition 28's explicit restrictions.
"Intent doesn't matter," the community letter argues. "Riverstone acknowledged violations 'may have' occurred. Their internal controls were implemented only after community complaints—reactive rather than proactive compliance. When heavy construction vehicles use roads not designed for such traffic, public safety is threatened."
Legal Questions About Permit Extension Dismissed Without Independent Review
Carter's report stated that the county attorney has issued an opinion that the project qualifies for an extension under Virginia Code § 15.2-2209.1:1. However, community legal review has determined that this interpretation is incorrect. The General Assembly has repeatedly amended this statute with complex enactment clauses that do not support automatic extension.
"If Riverstone's interpretation is legally sound, why does independent legal review pose any risk?" the community letter questions. "The County cannot allow potentially unpermitted construction to continue while this fundamental question remains unresolved."
Irreversible Environmental Damage Continues
Once mature environmental buffers are destroyed, they cannot be restored within any reasonable timeframe. The established trees, root systems, and natural soil profiles protecting streams near the James River represent decades of growth. Additionally, construction activities including cut and fill, bulldozing, and earthmoving destroy the natural topography and further contribute to the loss of buffer function.
"Every day of delay allows more irreversible damage to water quality protections for the James River," according to the community response. "These buffers took decades to mature and cannot be meaningfully replaced. The County Administrator's incomplete report and failure to enforce gives Riverstone permission to continue destroying protected environmental resources."
Community Calls for Immediate Action
Residents are urging the Board of Supervisors to:
Issue a Stop Work Order suspending all construction activities immediately
Issue Notices of Violation for SUP Conditions 3, 13, 21(b), and 28
Require immediate correction of all buffer encroachments
Require immediate installation of wash stations at all project entrances
Enforce prohibited road restrictions to protect public safety
Demand corrected construction plans that eliminate all buffer violations before work resumes
Obtain independent legal review of whether the SUP was properly extended
Public Meeting Tuesday, October 14
Community members are gathering at the Board of Supervisors meeting on Tuesday, October 14, 2025 at 6:00 PM at the Buckingham County Administrative Building to demand enforcement action.
"The SUP conditions were the price of approval—safeguards specifically designed to protect the James River watershed, our roads, and our neighbors," the community letter states. "The County Administrator's selective reporting and defense of the developer instead of protecting citizens is unacceptable. If these conditions can be ignored after approval, the credibility of all SUP approvals in Buckingham County is undermined."
About Friends of Buckingham, Va
We are a group of Buckingham County citizens united to work with our county leaders to attract economic investment opportunities that benefit all of our residents and contribute to a healthy environment. We are dedicated to celebrating our county’s diverse cultural heritage and rural lifestyle, and to protecting our natural resources and remaining wild places. Towards that end, we are committed to protecting our health and environment from any outside interests that seek to exploit our natural resources, such as the Atlantic Coast Pipeline (ACP), Industrial-scale solar installations, and the dire threats of gold mining.
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