While most of the city received light dustings of snow this past week, residents in the Venable Neighborhood woke to a layer of soot spewed on their cars, homes and walkways last Friday. Two of the University's main boilers broke down at its main heating plant, releasing massive amounts of coal dust into the air.
The plant, located near the corner of 14th Street and West Main Street, lost one boiler last Wednesday and a second one last Thursday, leaving only two boilers to heat the entire University, University spokeswoman Carol Wood.
"The University was in a crisis situation for heating last Thursday night -- in danger of losing heat to the hospital -- so the only reasonable decision was made to cut off heat all around Grounds, so we could divert as much heat as possible to the hospital," Wood said.
The University had to use boilers that were not usually run at such a high rate, causing the projection of soot, she added.
The damage caused by the soot angered many residents.
"Most of the complaints I've heard came from individual citizens who live in the Venable Neighborhood," City Council Member Blake Caravati said.
The University has taken measures to aid residents in cleanup.
"We are well aware of the huge inconvenience it has been for neighbors," Wood said. "As soon as we realized what happened, we set up a phone line through our Office of Risk Management so neighbors could call and report damages."
The University met with Charlottesville representatives, Martha Jefferson House administrators and talked with residents to plan for the clean-up of exterior buildings and equipment, according to Wood.
Despite the University's efforts, Caravati said he expects some insurance claims will be filed against the University.
No formal complaints have been filed at this time.
Rick Jones, who owns some apartment complexes in the Venable area, expressed his own concerns.
"I think whatever it costs us to clean up, we will more than likely ask the University to cover these costs," Jones said. "When it's on our sidewalks, our parking lots, our buildings, and we know where it came from, then we're able to go to those people and say, 'We think you need to take care of the problem.'"
Council Member Kevin Lynch agreed.
"I think it would be an appropriate thing for the school to do," he said. "Otherwise I think who will ultimately end up paying for it is students who end up tracking this stuff all over their apartments."
Property damage aside, many residents still are concerned about safety issues stemming from a coal-burning plant.
"This incident really underscores the inappropriateness of having a coal-fired heating plant with no scrubbers right in the middle of an urban area," Lynch said. "We certainly encourage the University to switch to a cleaner fuel source."
Wood acknowledged that the University plans to reduce pollution.
"We started working with the Department of Environmental Quality last spring to come up with a long-term plan for burning fuel needed to heat the University while reducing emissions from the plant," she said.
City Planning Commission Chairman Kevin O'Halleran also commented on the dangers posed by a coal-burning plant.
"A great deal of soot came out of the plant and the University students and staff and community members were forced to breathe this stuff in and clean it up once it settled on people's homes and sidewalks," O'Halleran said.
"There is technology available to significantly limit pollution and the University has acknowledged that this plant is creating a lot of pollution -- they have said they don't want to spend the money to install scrubbers," he added.
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