For the last few weeks, George Washington’s Mount Vernon and Dominion Energy have been engaged in a nasty and very public PR battle over Dominions plans to build a compressor station just across the river from the first president’s home.
Mount Vernon launched a surprisingly aggressive (aggressive for a historical site) campaign to fight Dominion Energy’s development plans.
The energy company has plans to construct a compressor station directly across the river from Mount Vernon. The project would change the landscape views, adding two smokestacks to the otherwise serene and mostly unaltered view from the first president’s plantation home.A map of the proposed construction shows the Dominion Energy project in red, directly across from Mount Vernon, pictured in purple.
Mount Vernon’s campaign included an online petition, hashtag, #SaveGWsView, and a lengthy recitation on why the plans for new development were dangerous for this historical sight.
Perfectly timed (draw whatever conclusion you will) with the #SaveGWsView campaign, the National Trust for Historic Preservation listed Mount Vernon as one of America’s 11 Most Endangered Historic Places.
But all of that is gone from Mount Vernon’s “Save the View” page. Now, there’s just one paragraph explaining how the two entities have joined forces:
Dominion Energy and George Washington’s Mount Vernon are now working together to find an alternate location for Dominion’s planned Charles Compressor Station, which is a part of the Eastern Market Access Project. As we work towards finding a mutually agreeable solution, we will share more details regarding the new natural gas compressor station location.
Hopefully, they’ll come to some consensus here, one that allows capitalism to capitalize and maintains the viewshed of Mount Vernon. George Washington’s home deserves at least that much.
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