Waynesboro residents question Northrop Grumman air permit

During the Monday, July 13, Waynesboro City Council meeting, Northrop Grumman was not on the agenda, but residents had questions to ask about the new manufacturer.

The new Northrop Grumman facility in Waynesboro is anticipated to employ up to 330 people at full capacity, according to the Northrop Grumman’s website page on the Waynesboro location. After it was announced in 2023, the facility has been under construction for the past few years.

The speakers were focused on a public hearing on the facility with the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) scheduled on July 23 at 6:30 p.m. at the Waynesboro High School auditorium, 1200 W. Main St. The hearing will last “until the last oral comment has been presented or at 9 p.m., whichever is earliest.” An information briefing will take place just before, beginning at 6 p.m.

The company requested a state operating permit from the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), which would allow the facility to emit some chemicals as part of its operations.

What could be emitted from the facility?

According to a draft engineering analysis, the facility will house “operations to assemble and compile electronic components used in the aerospace industry.” As such, the Waynesboro facility is not expected to manufacture “synthetic organic chemicals” such as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, also known as PFAS or PFOA chemicals. However, volatile organic compounds will be used at the facility, such as MIBK, toluene, and xylene.

“These compounds will be used in Northrop Grumman’s coating and solvent operations,” explained Irina Calos, communications manager for DEQ. “Emissions of these compounds will be controlled via use restrictions. This is to say that there is no emissions control equipment associated with solvent use. Northrop Grumman’s … air permit will limit solvent emissions to less than toxic air pollutant exemption thresholds.”

Rae Kasdan, a resident of Waynesboro, brought up her concern around these emissions in the city, given its history. In 2016, DuPont agreed to an approximately $50 million South River settlement over the release of mercury into the South River from its former Waynesboro facility. Kasdan said she spoke to other residents “who were very concerned” about the possibility of emissions.

“How did this happen in Waynesboro, a city that has been dealing with forever water pollution from the Dupont plant?” Kasdan asked.

Deborah Kushner, who was part of the push to get Staunton City Council to remove Flock cameras, argued the emissions could leave the facility and drift toward the nearby Town Center Mall. She also pointed out the parts of are Waynesboro listed as environmental justice (EJ) communities on the DEQ’s website.

“If you knew about the EJ status, shame on you. If you didn’t know of the community’s EJ status, shame on you,” said Kushner. “You have rolled out the red carpet for a notorious worldclass corporate polluter.”

After the meeting, The News Leader reached out to the city to follow up on the speaker’s questions. City Manager Mike Hamp replied on behalf of council.

“DEQ’s permit hearing is the appropriate venue for residents to express concerns, objections, and opinions regarding Northrup Grumman’s application,” wrote Hamp. “The Council respects that the citizen comment period during regular business meetings is an opportunity for citizens to communicate with city council. Council understands that there are citizens who are especially concerned about the environment and public health. Naturally, the city council shares that interest as well. The [DEQ and the] United States Environmental Protection Agency possess the sole legal authority to issue and enforce discharge and emission permits such as the one sought by Northrup Grumman.”

The company also previously explained its application to The News Leader.

“Northrop Grumman recently submitted an environmental permit application to the Department of Environmental Quality as part of our standard construction process related to our forthcoming Blue Ridge Advanced Manufacturing Center,” the company said in an earlier statement to The News Leader. “The draft permit reflects our ongoing efforts to operate responsibly and in accordance with applicable air quality regulations. This state-of-the-art facility will deliver advanced radars, communications antennas, and electronic warfare capabilities. We remain committed to working with the community to protect the environment and being a strong partner in Waynesboro.”

Economic development and secrecy

Kasdan was also critical of the secrecy under which council and Waynesboro negotiated with Northrop Grumman to come into the city, similar to the current government secrecy around the buyer of the former Augusta Correctional Center facility.

“When council welcomed Northrop Grumman into the Valley community, I’d like to think your intentions were honorable, blinded by the promise of jobs, and your secrecy shrouding the negotiations felt necessary because of competition from other localities,” said Kasdan.

Waynesboro Director of Economic Development Greg Hitchen was unable to share Northrop Grumman’s name as the business interested in the property during a Nov. 2023 city council meeting, referring only to “Project Norse.” The city approved the performance agreement with the then anonymous Project Norse via a resolution on Nov. 13, 2023. During the subsequent meeting on Nov. 27, after the identify behind Project Norse was unveiled, council then approved another resolution that explicitly naming Northrop Grumman.

“At the last meeting we adopted a resolution that identified Northrop Grumman just as a Delaware Corporation because the governor had not yet made his official announcement and we weren’t – no one was allowed to say anything before the governor,” explained Waynesboro legal counsel Melisa Michelsen during the Nov. 27, 2023, council meeting. “We, in transparency and for just making it extra legal, we wanted to ensure that the public knew that the resolution and the performance agreements relating to the tax incentives as well as the CFO Grant with the Commonwealth of Virginia related to Northrop Grumman.”

This was echoed by Hamp when asked about the secrecy. “For a variety of valid, lawful and practical reasons, business recruitment and incentivization are conducted, in part, in manner that does not disclose the identity of a business prospect,” he said. “Ultimately, approval of incentives and performance agreements are considered by the elected body in a public meeting or meetings, and the disclosure of such businesses and agreements are fully identified to the public prior to action by Council.”

What tax incentives were given to Northrop Grumman to come to Waynesboro locally?

The agreement explains that the company is expected to pay the full amount of real estate, machinery and tool, and business personal property taxes. The company would then request a reimbursement from the Waynesboro Economic Development Authority, paid for by the city. The reimbursement amounts were set by the agreement approved by council, which established a baseline tax rate using 2023 figures.

The property’s 2023 tax assessment was $2,997,100, based on the initial 83 acres of property. Northrop Grumman sold some of this land, leaving them with 63.859 acres. Using the 2023 tax rate, 77 cents per $100 of assessed value, the baseline is then set at $17,734, as explained by Hitchen.

Any incremental increase over the baseline, as part of the deal, would be fully reimbursed to the company in 2026.

According to Waynesboro’s GIS data, the taxable value of the property jumped from the 2023’s $2,997,100 to $5,897,200 in 2025 and increased nine-fold to $46,157,300 in 2026. Looking at 1001 Shenandoah Village Drive’s 2026 assessment, shows $40 million dollars’ worth of improvement to the property since the 2025 assessment.

In May, Waynesboro approved a five-cent real estate tax increase, from 82 cents per $100 of assessed value to 87 cents per $100 of assessed value. In 2025, council increased real estate taxes from 77 cents to 82 cents per $100 of assessed value. That 77 cents rate was in effect in 2023, according to the city.

Without the tax breaks, Northrop Grumman would have paid $401,568.51 in 2026 real estate taxes. The deal means they would pay the entire amount, then they are eligible for a reimbursement of $383,834.23, bringing the effective tax rate back down to the $17,734 baseline.

This does not include machinery and tool and business personal property taxes the deal would also make them eligible for. It also doesn’t include a one-time $200,000 cash incentive if Northrop Grumman is able to show it has 331 full-time employees with an average salary of $93,942 and it maintained that employee count for at least six months.

The reimbursement schedule drops as the deal moves forward. In 2027, 90% of the incremental increase would be reimbursed. The rate continues to drop over the next few years:

<ul><li>In 2028 and 2029, 80% of the incremental increase will be reimbursed.</li><li>In 2030 and 2031, 70% will be reimbursed.</li><li>In 2032 and 2033, 60% will be reimbursed.</li><li>In 2034 and 2035, 50% will be reimbursed.</li></ul>This same reimbursement schedule also applies to the full amount of both the machinery and tools tax and the business personal property tax paid by Northrop Grumman.

The agreement sets a maximum local incentive package of $8.5 million “to assist the company with locating the manufacturing facility” in Waynesboro, spread out over the course of 10 years.

What happens next?

The next step for Northrop Grumman, Waynesboro and the DEQ is the permit hearing scheduled next week.

“Northrup Grumman will go through the process of applying for a permit,” Hamp said. “Regardless of whether one is issued, individuals who are concerned about pollution should also communicate with decision and policy makers at the state and national levels. Regulatory structures have presumably become more rigorous and pollution mitigation technologies have developed as well in the last 50 years.”

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Reporting by Lyra Bordelon, Staunton News Leader / Staunton News Leader USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect