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professional staff, participating in ajoint meeting with Chesapeake City Council, conducting multiple public meetings and briefings for citizens of Portsmouth and Chesapeake, discussions with other stakeholders such as IT AC, Delta- T, the Elizabeth River Project, the Chamber of Commerce, and ethanol industry representatives, as well as multiple site visits to ethanol refineries; and Portsmouth now arrives at an official position reluctantly, and only after engaging in said extensive due diligence followed by thoughtful and careful analysis; and WHEREAS, it is the highest duty of government to protect the health, safety, and welfare of citizens: NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Council of the City of Portsmouth, Virginia, that: I. The City of Portsmouth hereby opposes development of the proposed ethanol refinery in the City of Chesapeake, unless and until such time as responsible parties are able to fully document that it will not adversely affect community preservation, quality of life, or public health, with this documentation meeting appropriate scientific, medical, and empirical standards. 2. The City of Chesapeake is respectfully requested to deny the pending request for a use permit at the present time. 3. The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality is respectfully requested either to deny or to indefinitely defer action on any request for an air permit until such time as air emission and odor standards can be promulgated and applied that will adequately protect community quality and public health in these circumstances. 4. The Governor of Virginia is respectfully requested to initiate a public health study dealing with air emissions and noise from ethanol refineries, and thereafter to conform the practices of all state agencies that interact with ethanol refineries to the conclusions and recommendations of the study. 5. All public, public-private, and private sector agencies that award and administer economic development grants are respectfully requested not to award any grants to the proposed facility at the present time. 6. The City Manager and the City Attorney are hereby authorized and directed to take all such other and further actions as may be needed to prevent development of the proposed refinery at the present time and to protect community quality and public health. The City Manager and the City Attorney shall from time to time report to City Council on the status of all matters encompassed in this resolution.