Regional Authority in Southern Virginia Ditches Deal with RePower

The Spartanburg, S.C.-based company had proposed a $100 million trash-handling complex on the Southern Branch of the Elizabeth River in Chesapeake, but it has run months behind in meeting key terms of the contract, including financing.

SPSA’s board came close to ending the contract in two previous votes, in April and July. On Wednesday, two representatives from Isle of Wight County who had voted to stick with RePower went the other way. That was enough to pass the motion to terminate. It was proposed by board member William Sorrentino, a private engineer from Virginia Beach who has long questioned RePower’s plan.

The vote came immediately after another in which the board split 8-8 on whether to amend the contract. One of that motion’s proposals was to give RePower nearly another year, until February 2019, to begin operation.

Now SPSA will explore the possibility of a new round of bids from waste management companies. But there’s no hurry, said John Keifer, the authority’s chairman, because SPSA owns a large landfill in Suffolk that has plenty of room for expansion.