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by Duane Nichols via CLEAR 01 Apr '17

01 Apr '17

https://printedephemera.lib.wvu.edu/imageviewer/wvulibraries:58370/digitalI… Sent from my iPhone

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Fwd: Protecting our Water - Learn More About HB2506
by Duane via CLEAR 10 Mar '17

10 Mar '17

> From: Friends of the Cheat <amanda(a)cheat.org> > Date: March 10, 2017 3:38:10 PM EST > > Subject: Protecting our Water - Learn More About HB2506 > > > The West Virginia Senate Judiciary Committee will soon consider HB2506. This bill will change the way stream flow is measured when setting limits for pollution discharge permits. The new method would make the assumption that river and streams are larger and can dilute pollution to concentrations that would not threaten human health or water quality. > > Based on the knowledge available and our understanding of HB2506 as it exists now, Friends of the Cheat is opposed to this proposed rule change and would be opposed to any rule or legislative action that could increase pollution in the Cheat River and its tributaries. > > HB2506 has the potential to compromise the improved water quality achieved by 24 years of hard work and millions of dollars of restoration and remediation projects. Further, the passage of such a bill could undermine the community’s ability to promote the Cheat River has a haven for recreation and related tourism. > Learn more about HB2506 here, here, here, and here. And if you need a laugh after all that, check out West Virginia storyteller Bil Lepp’s take on HB2506. > Legislators may consider HB2506 early next week. You can voice your opinion on HB2506 to members of the Senate Judiciary Committee in a few ways – direct calls and emails from constituents can be very powerful. If you don’t know who your senator is, you can find out using the senate district maps here. Or, if you have a cell phone, text your zip code to (520) 200-2223 and you will get a text back with all your representatives’ names and phone numbers. > Call members of the Senate Judiciary Committee > Chair Senator Charles Trump (R – Morgan, District 15) (304) 357-7980 > Vice Chair Senator Ryan Weld (R – Brooke, District 1) (304) 357-7984 > Senator Mike Azinger (R – Wood, District 3) (304) 357-7970 > Senator Bob Beach (D – Monongalia, District 13) (304) 357-7919 > *Senator Beach has consistently reported that he does not support HB2506 > Senator Charles Clements (R – Wetzel, District 2) (304) 357-7827 > Senator Sue Cline (R – Wyoming, District 9) (304) 357-7807 > Senator Ryan Ferns (R – Ohio, District 1) (304) 357-7918 > Senator Glenn Jeffries (D – Putnam, District 8) (304) 357-7866 > Senator Robert Karnes (R – Upshur, District 11) (304) 357-7909 > *District 11 encompasses the headwaters of the Cheat River watershed. > Senator Mark Maynard (R – Wayne, District 6) (304) 357-7808 > Senator Ronald Miller (D – Greenbrier, District 10) (304) 357-7959 > Senator Richard Ojeda (D – Logan, District 7) (304) 357-7857 > Senator Mike Romano (D – Harrison, District 12) (304) 357-7904 > Senator Patricia Rucker (R – Jefferson, District 16) (304) 357-7957 > Senator Randy Smith (R – Tucker, District 14) (304) 357-7995 > *District 14 encompasses the entire lower Cheat River watershed, including all of Preston and Tucker Counties > Senator Chandler Swope (R – Mercer, District 6) (304) 357-7843 > Senator Mike Woelfel (D – Cabell, District 5) (304) 357-7956 > Email members of the Senate Judiciary Committee > Copy and paste this group of emails below > charles.trump(a)wvsenate.gov; ryan.weld(a)wvsenate.gov; chandler.swope(a)wvsenate.gov; bob.beach(a)wvsenate.gov; glenn.jeffries(a)wvsenate.gov; ronald.miller@wvsenate.gov;richard.ojeda@wvsenate.gov; mike.romano(a)wvsenate.gov; mike.azinger(a)wvsenate.gov; charles.clements(a)wvsenate.gov; sue.cline(a)wvsenate.gov; mike.woelfel(a)wvsenate.gov; ryan.ferns(a)wvsenate.gov; robert.karnes(a)wvsenate.gov; Mark.Maynard(a)wvsenate.gov; patricia.rucker(a)wvsenate.gov; randy.smith(a)wvsenate.gov > > Use the handy online tool provided by West Virginia Rivers Coalition to contact Senators in your district about HB2506. > > Friends of the Cheat (FOC) is a grassroots group working on the ground with local, state, Federal, academic, and private partners—including 45 landowners—to monitor, analyze, and remediate the vast acid mine drainage pollution problems in the lower watershed. FOC and its River of Promise Task Force have implemented restoration efforts which collectively have restored the once-dead Cheat River; FOC has constructed 17 pollution treatment systems to date, which remove hundreds of tons of pollution each year from the Cheat and its tributaries. FOC is also collecting data and working with local partners to understand and clean up coliform pollution from inadequate sewage treatment. This progress could be slowed by relaxing pollution controls at permitted sites including mine water treatment operations and sewage treatment plants. > > Rebirth has begun, but there is more work to be done – long live the Cheat River! Working to restore, preserve, and promote the outstanding natural qualities of the Cheat River watershed since 1994. > > Learn more about the Cheat River’s revival here, here, and here. > > > Copyright © 2017 Friends of the Cheat, All rights reserved. > You are a friend of the Cheat! > > Our mailing address is: > Friends of the Cheat > 119 South Price St. Suite #206 > Kingwood WV, WV 26537-1478 > > Add us to your address book > > > Want to change how you receive these emails? > You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list > >

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Charleston Gazette-Mail | New secretary fires WVDEP environmental advocate
by Duane Nichols via CLEAR 29 Jan '17

29 Jan '17

http://www.wvgazettemail.com/news-politics/20170127/new-secretary-fires-wvd… New secretary fires WVDEP environmental advocate West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection Secretary Austin Caperton on Friday fired Wendy Radcliff, the leader of the DEP’s Office of Environmental Advocate. The move immediately drew strong criticism from West Virginia citizen groups and environmental organizations that were already wary of how Caperton, a longtime coal industry consultant, would run the agency charged with regulating mining, gas drilling and other industries. “I’m really almost speechless,” said Cindy Rank, the longtime mining chairwoman for the West Virginia Highlands Conservancy. “If they wanted to alienate the citizens and the environmental community, this is the way to do it.” Angie Rosser, executive director of the West Virginia Rivers Coalition, said it is shocking that Caperton made the move prior to a newly scheduled meeting the week after next with representatives of her organization, the Highlands Conservancy, the West Virginia League of Women Voters and the West Virginia Environmental Council. “This is troublesome news,” Rosser said. “Wendy Radcliff has been the direct line for citizen concerns to help make sure the agency is accountable to the public. It’s concerning this decision seemingly was made without input from the people who the environmental advocate is designed to serve.” Caperton, who is just finishing his second week on the job for Gov. Jim Justice, also fired Kelley Gillenwater, the DEP’s communications director. Gillenwater and Radcliff declined to comment Friday, but their firing was confirmed by numerous DEP sources who asked not to be identified. Radcliff, an attorney, has filled the environmental advocate post for more than six years during two stints at the agency. Gillenwater had been communications director for nearly three years and, while emphasizing the DEP’s position on various issues, also had developed a reputation for pushing to make agency officials more responsive to news media requests. The Justice administration offered no complete explanation for the shakeup at the DEP, and it was not clear what — if any — other changes Caperton planned to make among the top leadership at the agency. Caperton did not return phone calls and, on orders from the Governor’s Office, has rejected interview requests from the Gazette-Mail. Caperton, an engineer and an attorney, previously worked for A.T. Massey Coal and for his family’s company, Slab Fork Coal. He’s worked as an energy industry consultant since 1989, but a list of his clients has not been made public. Jake Glance, an assistant to Gillenwater in the DEP public information office, provided a one-sentence statement via email, but did not return phone calls or answer emailed questions about the statement. “We are restructuring to make our operation more efficient by consolidating roles,” the statement from Glance said. Under state law, the DEP is required to have an environmental advocate and a public information officer. There was not a clear answer on Friday about whether Caperton plans to fill either post or combine their functions, or what his timeline is for either option. And, the DEP’s rules for the environmental advocate office specifically state that the advocate “may not in any official capacity organize public campaigns” either to oppose or support “positions taken” by the DEP “on environmental matters,” a prohibition that would seem to create a roadblock to combining the advocate and communications director roles. Friday also was the deadline for Caperton’s internal request that each of the more than 800 DEP employees submit to him “at least one cost-saving idea for the agency.” In a memo to DEP employees, Caperton had said Justice “has directed that we do everything in our power to eliminate waste and find savings.” Caperton asked that the ideas be provided through an online survey or provided to Gillenwater. An exact breakdown of the environmental advocate office budget was not available, because its spending is combined within the total for the DEP’s executive offices. But in addition to Radcliff, the office had two other employees and shared a secretary with a separate DEP Office of Small Business Ombudsman, whose stated role at the agency is to “safeguard small business’s rights and help them when they have problems with regulatory agencies.” The DEP environmental advocate office was created by the Legislature in 1994, at the behest of then-state Sen. David Grubb, D-Kanawha. Grubb had threatened to hold up passage of a 1,400-page, industry-backed bill to consolidate the state’s various environmental agencies unless language was added to create a position aimed at helping everyday citizens navigate the DEP’s complex regulatory system. Early on, the office faced repeated but unsuccessful efforts by some Republican lawmakers to eliminate it. And various industry trade groups tried during a public comment period on the rules governing the advocate office to narrowly define the position’s role at DEP. The West Virginia Manufacturers Association, for example, opposed giving the office additional staff and argued against the idea that citizens needed help getting more of voice in state environmental policymaking. Radcliff, though, served as environmental advocate under five different top DEP leaders — including two whose backgrounds were in the coal industry — and in both Democratic and Republican administrations. She began in mid-1994 under then-DEP Director David C. Callaghan during the Democratic administration of Gov. Gaston Caperton, who is Austin Caperton’s cousin. Among other projects, Radcliff helped DEP officials organize a Citizens’ Strip Mine Tour in 1997 that provided one of the first close-up glimpses of the impact of mountaintop removal on residents in some coalfield communities. During the administration of Republican Cecil Underwood, Radcliff lasted for about 18 months, before resigning in June 1998, citing differences in philsophy and other career opportunities. Longtime Kanawha Valley chemical plant safety activist Pam Nixon took over as environmental advocate later in 1998. Nixon retired at the end of 2013 and then-DEP Secretary Randy Huffman convinced Radcliff to come back in June 2014. Huffman, who left earlier this month for a full-time position with the West Virginia Air National Guard, made Radcliff part of the DEP’s senior staff, which provided access to regular meetings of the agency’s division directors. Among other things, Radcliff organized a program that helped find and better train emerging leaders within the agency’s ranks. “I really got to know Wendy well over past few years when she agreed to come back to [the] DEP and serve as our state’s environmental advocate,” Huffman said Friday. “Her enthusiasm and passion for West Virginia is contagious. I appreciate how she understands the nexus between environmental protection and economic growth and how faithfully she supports the role of [the] DEP in that mix. She is selfless in all she does and she makes everyone around her better. I consider her a friend of mine and a friend of West Virginia.” Bill Price, senior organizer for the Sierra Club in West Virginia, said he is troubled by Radcliff’s dismissal. “Wendy Radcliff is a person that people trusted when they felt unheard,” Price said. “Is this a sign of how the people of West Virginia will be shut out by the Justice administration?” “For many who have well water woes or who are worried about another coal slurry spill, have questions about an oil and gas or coal permit or have any number of questions about how to interact with [the] DEP, Wendy’s the first point of contact,” said Vivian Stockman, vice director of the Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition. “She’s friendly, helpful and competent. She does the agency proud, so her dismissal is confounding.“ Reach Ken Ward Jr. at kward(a)wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-1702 or follow @kenwardjr on Twitter. Sent from my iPhone

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Charleston Gazette-Mail | Why wintertime brings prime walleye fishing to WV
by Duane via CLEAR 19 Dec '16

19 Dec '16

http://www.wvgazettemail.com/outdoors/20161218/why-wintertime-brings-prime-… Why wintertime brings prime walleye fishing to WV Article by John McCoy, Charleston Gazette Mail, December 18, 2016 As a fisheries biologist, Mark Scott often works with walleyes. He also likes to fish for them, and he says the winter months are an especially good time to catch large female walleyes as they get ready to spawn. West Virginia is trying to protect its native-strain walleyes by imposing special regulations on waters where native walleyes are known to live. There’s a good reason why the words “winter” and “walleye” both begin with a “W.” The two go together like — well, come up with your own pairing. Bacon and eggs. Barbie and Ken. Scooby and Shaggy. Winter is a great time to fish for walleyes. As soon as the weather turns cold, walleyes start moving toward their spawning grounds. Mark Scott, a fisheries biologist and avid walleye angler, said the spawning urge tends to concentrate the fish in specific areas. “In the New River, they congregate downstream from Sandstone Falls,” he said. “On the Kanawha, you can find them below Kanawha Falls or downstream from the navigation dams. At Summersville Lake, you’ll find them in the shoals just upstream from where the Gauley River flows in. “On the Greenbrier River, it’s the area downstream from Bacon Falls. On the Elk River, it’s the area downstream from Sutton Dam.” Scott said walleyes sometimes swim remarkable distances to reach good spawning habitat. A recent study showed that some individuals spent their summers in the New River just upstream from Hawks Nest Lake and their winters 44 miles upstream near Sandstone Falls. “When they’re moving, they’re more susceptible to angling,” Scott said. “They’re actively feeding, and when they get to their spawning zones you can find good numbers of them in a relatively small stretch of river.” Wintertime water temperatures slow down the activities of bass, catfish and other warm-water species. Walleyes like the cold. “They’re a ‘cool-water’ fish,” Scott explained. “They’re a lot like muskies in that regard. They remain active even when most of the other fish in the river aren’t.” Scott said live bait and artificial lures both work well for walleyes. “Some guys like to troll using deep-diving plugs that bang the bottom. Some people like jerk baits or swim baits. The key is fishing slow and on the bottom. Some of the biggest walleyes caught during the winter are hooked by muskie anglers throwing big muskie-sized baits,” he added. For bait anglers, large minnows or suckers are usually the ticket. “When you think about it, a 30-inch walleye is going to want a big bait,” Scott said. “The New River has lots of hogsuckers in it. They mass to spawn in the same areas the walleyes do. For the walleyes, it’s kind of like the buffet bar at Shoney’s.” Anglers who target winter walleyes should carefully read the Division of Natural Resources’ regulations pamphlet and update themselves on recent changes in walleye creel limits. In 2015, the DNR adopted a watershed-based system with specific regulations for specific lakes and rivers. “Those changes were made to protect our native-strain walleyes,” Scott explained. “Anywhere we had our native strain, we put regulations in place to restrict the take of large, spawning-age females.” In some parts of the state, the regulations are simple: a daily creel limit of eight with no length restrictions. The special regulations are more complicated. For example: n A 15-inch length minimum has been put into effect on the Cheat River, the Elk River upstream from Sutton Dam, the Monongahela River, the Tygart River, the West Fork River downstream from Stonewall Jackson Dam, and at Burnsville, Cheat, Stephens, Stonecoal and Tygart lakes. The creel limit on those waters is eight. n An 18-inch minimum size limit and a two-fish-per-day creel limit are in effect for the Ohio River and for the New River between the mouth of the Gauley River and Hawks Nest dam. n A slot limit is in effect for the Coal River, the Elk River downstream from Sutton Dam, the Greenbrier River, the Gauley River downstream from Summersville Dam, and the New River between the Virginia line and Hawks Nest Dam (except in the catch-and-release section detailed below). All walleye between 20 and 30 inches in length must be returned to the water at once. A two-fish daily creel limit is in effect, and only one of those fish can measure more than 30 inches. n A slot limit is in effect on the Gauley River upstream from Summersville Dam, including Summersville Reservoir. All walleye between 20 and 30 inches in length must be returned to the water at once. An eight-fish daily creel limit is in effect, and only one of those fish may measure more than 30 inches. n Catch-and-release regulations are in effect on Charles Fork and Dog Run lakes, and on the 5-mile stretch of the New River from Sandstone Falls downstream to the Meadow Creek public access site. All walleyes must be returned to the water at once. Scott said the catch-and-release regulations were put into place to protect the New River’s prime walleye spawning habitat and the two lakes where native-strain walleyes are kept to provide hatchery brood stock.

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Congratulations to Friends of the Cheat, County Parks and Recreation Commission, Town of Bruceton Mills | Opinion | theet.com
by Jonathan Rosenbaum via CLEAR 07 Dec '16

07 Dec '16

Subject: Congratulations to Friends of the Cheat, County Parks and Recreation Commission, Town of Bruceton Mills | Opinion | theet.com From: Duane Nichols http://www.theet.com/content/tncms/live/ Congratulations to Friends of the Cheat, County Parks and Recreation Commission, Town of Bruceton Mills Yes, Preston County, there indeed is a Santa Claus. Three area organizations — Friends of the Cheat, the Preston County Parks and Recreation Commission and the Town of Bruceton Mills — were awarded separate federal and state transportation and recreational grants on Tuesday, Nov. 29, in Charleston by Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin. Tomblin invited representatives from each entity, including dozens of other award winners from across the state, to present each group with the grant certificate and congratulations. The Friends of the Cheat was awarded $150,000 for the first phase of its Cheat River Rail Trail Design and Construction Phase I. The Preston County Parks and Recreation Commission received $71,600 in federal grant funds to be used for its ongoing WV Northern Rail Trail project. The third local recipient was the Town of the Bruceton Mills. Mayor Cathy Smith attended the announcement event, representing her community. Her town was one out of 40 in the state to receive a portion of $5,917,737 in Transportation Alternatives Grants. Bruceton received $135,200 for design and engineering work for its ambitious sidewalk project. Gov. Tomblin handed out grants for a total of 54 community and infrastructure projects across the state. The Transportation Alternatives and Recreational Trails Grant programs will provide more than $7 million for a variety of improvements. The funding is provided by the Federal Highway Administration, while the state Division of Highways administers the programs. During the event, Gov. Tomblin told those in attendance, including nine representatives from Preston County, that the grant funding will help build and repair infrastructure across the state, ultimately making communities better places to live and work. Certainly this is great news for all of us who hope to see our beloved rural community become even more beautiful. The relentless positive efforts by the Friends of the Cheat, the Parks and Recreation Commission and now the wonderful Town of Bruceton Mills are clearly paying dividends. The Cheat River Rail Trail Design and Construction Phase I represents a single phase of a multi-year, multi-grant endeavor: Construction of one of the region’s most picturesque and recreationally important trails — the Cheat River Rail-Trail. Phase I will result in approximately 1.5 miles of paved trail. The Preston County Parks and Recreation Commission’s grant will help fund a small part of a larger project to restore and resurface 10 miles of the WV Northern Rail Trail that goes from Kingwood to Tunnelton and to create a WV Northern Trailhead Park. The current grant will fund the design of the next four miles of the WV Northern Rail trail. The Bruceton Mills award is the largest the northern Preston County community has ever received. According to town council member Laura Dulaney, the sidewalk project has been on the town’s wish list for the last 10 years. The grant will give the much talked about project the kick-start it’s needed for a long time. We cannot say enough great things about all three local entities. The men and women who make up the Friends of the Cheat, Parks and Recreation Commission and, of course, the Town of Bruceton Mills have shown a remarkable vision and determined community spirit that all of Preston County should recognize. See also: www.FrackCheckWV.net <http://www.FrackCheckWV.net>

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Efforts to save the Cheat River chart clearer course forward | News & Observer
by Duane via CLEAR 29 Nov '16

29 Nov '16

http://www.newsobserver.com/news/business/article117648958.html Efforts to save the Cheat River chart clearer course forward By Michael Virtanen, Preston County News & Observer, Nov. 29, 2016 <Associated Press> The Cheat River flows pale green and slate gray, glistening in the sunshine as it gathers speed, turns to whitewater and drops between rocks on the way toward the Monongahela River. From there it makes its way to the Ohio River and the drinking water of millions of people. As West Virginia pushes toward an uncertain economic future, a river that once flowed bright orange charts a course out of mining's toxic legacies. The state recently joined conservationists to protect the Cheat's eight-mile whitewater canyon, collectively buying 3,800 acres from timber investors for $7 million. A new $8 million water treatment plant next year should help alleviate ongoing acid drainage from an abandoned underground coal mine that blew out in 1994, spewing acid and metals. "In the East, it's a rare opportunity where you get to protect eight river miles along an area that not only has tremendous biodiversity but also has a lot of recreational opportunities available," said the Nature Conservancy's Keith Fisher, a biologist. Even with President-elect Donald Trump promising a coal industry comeback, most West Virginians have adapted to a world in which other economic engines are needed to revive one of the nation's poorest states. The two-decade effort to reclaim the Cheat River and its tributaries fits into a broader push to grow tourism in West Virginia, where visitors already spend about $4.5 billion annually. "Our tourism possibilities in this state are limitless," Governor-elect Jim Justice said during the campaign. An outdoorsman and mine owner, he told The Associated Press after winning that he wants to protect the state's air, water and natural beauty, saying it can co-exist with coal. The Cheat also has a more tangible connection to West Virginia's coal legacy. Like many waterways in coal-producing states, it remains threatened by mine drainage that turns water acidic. The state Department of Environmental Protection calls the acidification of waterways coal's "biggest environmental problem," affecting hundreds of miles of West Virginia rivers and streams, usually from abandoned mines where those who caused it are long gone. The agency says the Monongahela, Tug Fork, North Branch of the Potomac and several other rivers have all been affected. The Cheat is clear to the bottom and shallow in November, unlike the spring surge that rises above boulders and draws peak-season rafters and kayakers down the canyon. Its steep walls are lined with hardwoods, oaks, hickories and maples still dropping amber leaves. The water remains high enough to carry small boats. Part of the 330-mile Allegheny Trail runs parallel for eight miles, high on the river's east rim. The narrow, grassy former logging tract was once designated for a rail line. Now it's reopened to hikers, fishermen and hunters and closed to all-terrain vehicles. Commercial rafters never stopped using their rights to a navigable waterway, though they lost business after the blowout. "Cheat River is so much better than it used to be," said Doug Wood, a retired state biologist. "As a drinking water source it's much better than it was before." Downstream drinking water systems all have to treat their intake from the rivers for bacteria and other contaminants, some more extensively. Its acidity was toxic to virtually all aquatic life after the 1994 mine blowout released massive drainage outflows into a tributary, Muddy Creek. "The Cheat was already a pretty severely polluted river," said Randy Robinson, then a rafting guide who was on it shortly after the blowout and remembers the nasty, sulfurous smell. "It was like orange paint had been dumped in the river in a way." The orange coating on the rocks from iron hydroxide, which persisted for years, has disappeared. The acid levels have been sharply reduced through dozens of water-treatment projects, proven by both testing and the abundance of freshwater fish in Cheat Lake, a downstream river impoundment that has attracted an enclave of upscale homes and townhouses outside Morgantown. According to Wood, acid drainage is a fairly predictable matter of coal geology, where the nearby rock also contains iron disulfide. With mining, it will produce iron hydroxide and sulfuric acid when combined with oxygen and water that eventually finds a path down and out. "The problems with the Cheat should have educated our permitting agencies, a long time ago, to prevent them from issuing permits that are going to result in perpetual acid mine drainage," Wood said. He said that hasn't happened. Restoring an affected waterway afterward requires costly, active treatment, he said. The state permitting agency said it does consider geology among many factors. Permits aren't approved unless an operation is deemed to meet all federal and state legal requirements, spokeswoman Kelley Gillenwater said. Amanda Pitzer, executive director of Friends of the Cheat, volunteers who monitor and work on its restoration, said the pH level, which is neutral at 7, dropped to toxic 3 and 4 after the blowout. The Muddy Creek tributary looks milky green now, still showing effects of drainage that also includes aluminum. The creek, though improved, still has no fish. David McCoy, a state engineer, said 3.4 miles of Muddy Creek still usually test acidic, and the Cheat itself now tests neutral. The new filtration system will use two 80-foot clarifiers, a 100-ton silo and hydrated lime to counter the acidity and capture the sludge of metals that settle out. That sludge will be piped to an injection well underground at a higher elevation. The Nature Conservancy emphasizes a "pragmatic" approach, working with businesses to promote best practices for limiting environmental impact. The economics of the transition from West Virginia's post-mining economy can't be ignored, said Fisher, the state chapter's director of conservation, and should include recreation and land and water restoration. All of that brings him back to the big question he and others are trying to answer. Standing on the trail, high above the softly rumbling river, he said it's about the transition from a coal-dependent economy to something else: "How do you make conservation and economic diversity work together?" Duane Nichols, Cell- 304-216-5535, www.FrackCheckWV.net

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State road crews working on late fall projects, Cheat River Road slide, road resurfacing happening all month | News | theet.com
by Duane via CLEAR 04 Nov '16

04 Nov '16

http://www.theet.com/content/tncms/live/ State road crews working on late fall projects, Cheat River Road slide, road resurfacing happening all month By Theresa Marthey, Preston County News & Journal, November 4, 2016 KINGWOOD — Major traffic delays on Cheat River Road may soon be coming to an end. Local road crews are nearly finished repairing a road slide that has caused major problems for motorists the last few weeks. A section of Cheat River Road, approximately one mile from the intersection of W.Va. 7 and W.Va. 72, on the Cheat River side has slipped and is being shored up. The section of road has been indicated by “uneven pavement” signs. “The project is approximately 50 percent complete and includes 212 feet of piling wall to stabilize the road and paving to even out the road,” Division of Highways Communications Specialist Carrie E. Jones said. “Guardrails will be installed also.” Bilco Construction Co. Inc. of Newton was awarded the $400,726 project, and it is expected to be completed by mid-November. Once the repairs on Cheat River Road are complete, DOH crews will then begin a handful of late fall projects. Those projects include repaving 2.55 miles of Mountaineer Highway (W.Va. 92). The contract was awarded to Dodd General Contractors of Bridgeport for $421,999.56 and should be completed by Nov. 16. The second road project, which has not been awarded but is set to begin on Nov. 15, is .79 miles of thin overlay on West Virginia Route 7 in Masontown. Finished paving projects include 3.38 miles of Interstate 68 from Coopers Rock to Laurel Run, 3.15 miles of George Washington Highway (U.S. 50), 1.9 miles of Gladesville Road, 1.6 miles of Clifton Mills Road, 2.7 miles of Caddell Mountain, 3.31 miles of Saltlick Road, 1.42 miles of W.Va. 26, and 2.03 miles of Interstate 68 (Maryland Road). On Monday, Oct. 31, county commissioners received a Statewide Transportation Improvement Plan (STIP) from the state Division on Highways listing amendments to a five-year road repair and construction plan for Preston County. The list contains four road projects for fiscal year 2017 that are required to have a “public review and comment period” because they show Federal Highway Administration and Federal Transit Administration expenditures. According to the letter from Deputy State Highway Engineer Robert Pennington, “additions or deletions to the STIP and certain changes to projects currently in the STIP must meet this requirement before federal funds can be obtained.” Included in the list are resurfacing projects on Brandonville Pike, Cranesville Road and Macomber-Hardesty Road (W.Va. 50). Mileage and specific locations for the projects are not given in the list. “While 2017 is marked beside these projects in the list, we have not received funding for next year yet,” Jones said. “We are waiting for our funding.” According to Jones, so far this year, the DOH has invested more than $7 million on resurfacing 19.49 miles of county roads during the recent spring and summer. See also: www.FrackCheckWV.net

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$4 million Rowlesburg water project expected to serve 150 held up, Developers granted 3 week extension | News | theet.com
by Duane via CLEAR 04 Nov '16

04 Nov '16

http://www.theet.com/content/tncms/live/ $4 million Rowlesburg water project expected to serve 150 held up, Developers granted 3 week extension By Therese Matheny, Preston County News & Journal, November 3, 2016 ROWLESBURG — The 150 customers of a water-extension project in Rowlesburg will have to wait an additional three weeks while developers from Region VI Planning and Development complete appraisals and right-of-way work. Rowlesburg’s town council approved the extension at its Oct. 24 meeting. Prior to the appraisals being completed, certified letters are required to be sent to the property owners setting a time when the appraiser would be on the subject property. There was a 45-day time frame set for the appraisals to be done, and the information submitted by Oct. 15. “The appraiser hired for the project did not get the letters sent out to the people in order to submit the appraisals by the deadline,” Region VI Planning and Development Council Excutive Director Sheena Hunt told the Rowlesburg Town Council on Oct. 24. “The attorney for the project was on vacation and not able to prepare the letters for the appraiser.” Rowlesburg attorney Sheila Williams said she had prepared the required letters before leaving for vacation. “All that needed to be done was adding the name, phone and date the appraiser was going to be in Rowlesburg,” Williams said. “The letters could have been sent out.” Bobby Grimm, who lives eight-tenths of a mile outside of Rowlesburg and is the first person in line to receive water with the project, said he spoke with Williams after the Oct. 24 meeting. “The appraiser was hired by the town on Sept. 15,” Grimm said. “That was three weeks prior to Sheila going on vacation. “If someone had contacted Sheila right after the appraiser was hired and gave her information, this work would be done already,” Grimm continued. Hunt asked the town council for a three-week extension in having the appraisal get the work complete and submit it to the town. “Hopefully we will have those taken care of by the second meeting of next month (November),” Hunt said at the meeting. “Once we get the appraiser reports, we can begin negotiations with the property owners.” Grimm is worried the town will lose the grant and loan it worked so hard to get for the project if something is started soon. “I am just hoping we get the ball rolling soon,” Grimm said. “Rowlesburg cannot afford to lose the money for the project. “If they would lose the money, anything that was already drawn down on the grant and loan would have to be repaid,” Grimm shared. “Rowlesburg just cannot afford to pay any of that money down.” The amount drawn down for the project already was not available. Grimm said the town has a lot of problems right now, and he isn’t sure if the council understands the hardships of the project not moving along at a better pace. “I was expecting to see water at my home in fall of 2015,” Grimm said. “I hope to have water soon, but dirt is definitely not going to fly before spring of 2017. “I haul a lot of water,” Grimm said. “And I know the people who have signed up for water are also tired of waiting. We all started working on this project five years ago.” The $4 million project is set to serve an additional 150 customers on the south end of Rowlesburg. The project begins on West Virginia Route 72, where it leaves Rowlesburg, to U.S. 50 to the Tucker County line. The project also includes a portion on U.S. 50 West to Laurel Mountain and east to the Cheat River Bridge. See also: www.FrackCheckWV.net

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Rowlesburg council questioned about illegal sewage discharge into the Cheat River | News | theet.com
by Duane via CLEAR 30 Oct '16

30 Oct '16

Rowlesburg council questioned about illegal sewage discharge into the Cheat River From an Article by Thresea Marthley, Preston County News & Journal, October 30, 2016 Rowlesburg, WV — Rowlesburg residents and Friends of the Cheat (FOC) executive director Amanda Pitzer questioned town council on Monday about what the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection (WVDEP) said was an “illicit” sewage discharge into the Cheat River. The Preston County News & Journal first reported the Town of Rowlesburg and the WVDEP had entered into a Consent Order agreement over the town exceeding its sewage discharge limitations into the Cheat River from the town’s wastewater collection system. “This pipe is discharging a storm water and wastewater mix and is currently unpermitted,” WVDEP Environmental Inspector Mary Sanders told the Preston County News & Journal on Friday, Oct. 21. “This unpermitted discharge has already been addressed as part of Consent Order 8432.” Pitzer told council she wouldn’t characterize the issue as “little.” “This is more of a problem than I originally thought,” Pitzer said. “I am here to help, and one way I can help is by having all the information.” Pitzer said in the consent order, it was reported there was 12 million gallons of water a day going through the system. “We are seeing 6,000 times that at different points,” Pitzer said. “This concerns me. That is an amazing amount of water, and I can’t believe that number is correct.” Mayor Barbara Banister contradicted Pitzer during the meeting, telling her the data she was presenting was incorrect. Pitzer then asked Banister and council if she could see the Corrective Plan of Action that was required by the WVDEP as part of the consent order. Banister said they were not required to submit one. “We were not asked about that,” Banister said. “It was not on the consent order that I signed to my knowledge.” Pitzer told Banister her signature is on page five of the consent order, and on page three under “Order for Compliance,” number 5 states a proposed plan of corrective action was to be submitted within 30 days of the effective date of the order for approval. “That would have been in May,” Pitzer said. “I would really like to see it instead to having to use the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) to get it.” Banister continued to deny the town had agreed to submit such a plan. A Corrective Action Plan, according to the WVDEP, outlines action items and completion dates. The Preston County News & Journal has learned from the WVDEP that the town did indeed submit plan. “Rowlesburg submitted one, and it was denied for being insufficient,” Sanders wrote in an email. “To the best of my knowledge, WVDEP has not received another one.” Resident Phil Wotring asked town council if the sign that states “sewage discharges into the Cheat River every time it rains” can be removed. “It looks bad on the town to have that sign in our park,” Wotring said. “And has the problem been corrected, and was it required by the West Virginia DEP?” Banister said with the town having backwash from the storm/sewage system going into the river, she wanted to let people know what was happening and had the sign put up. “That sign was put up approximately six months ago,” Banister said. “It (the sign) was not required by the DEP.” Banister said she thought the “problem” was fixed when a contractor, Beitzel Corporation, was hired to put in catch basin at the site where the mixed water was pouring into the river. The pipe is located near the Rowlesburg Park. The work Beitzel Corporation completed was paid for by Mayor Banister and her husband without council approval. Banister did receive council’s blessing however, after the work had been completed. Early this month, the issue was investigated by the state Ethics Commission, which ultimately granted Baniser and the town a contract exemption. The town was ordered to pay Banister and her husband back the $54,637.94 they spent on the project. Details of the payback have not been released. However, Banister admitted the illicit drainage pipe will never be completely resolved until the town’s waste and stormwater are separated. Rowlesburg has what the WVDEP calls an unpermitted combined sewage overflow or CSO. “Because of the combined sewer and storm water lines, it has been doing this for years. After you get so much, it has to go somewhere because it is all the same lines,” Banister said.

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Sept. 24 - Citizen Science Gathering in Morgantown
by Jonathan Rosenbaum via CLEAR 14 Sep '16

14 Sep '16

The following was sent to you because you are a Member of the DEP News List mailing list. ============================================================ Wednesday, September 14, 2016 @ 2:11 PM ============================================================ Sept. 14, 2016 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Reminder: Registrations Still Being Accepted for Sept. 24 Citizen Science Gathering MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – It’s not too late to sign up to attend the Sept. 24 Citizen Science Gathering in Morgantown. Registrations for the event will be taken through Sunday, Sept. 18. The event was organized by the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection’s (DEP) Environmental Advocate’s Office, in conjunction with West Virginia University, Trout Unlimited, and several other groups. The gathering will be at the WVU College of Law from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. and will include presentations and roundtable discussions about the applications of citizen science. Citizen science, or “citsci,” involves the collection of environmental data by concerned citizens. This data can sometimes be used to shape environmental policy, but often there is confusion on the part of the citizens about best practices for collection and presentation of that data. The purpose of this gathering is to help eliminate some of that confusion. Renowned coal mine safety expert Davitt McAteer will speak on the legal applications of citizen science, and there will be presentations from WVU’s Michael McCawley, Gretchen Gehrke of PublicLab.org, and Ryan Grode of the Southwest Pennsylvania Environmental Health Project. The registration fee is $20. To sign up, or to obtain more information, email Diana Smith atdiana.k.smith(a)wv.gov by the end of the day on the 18th. You can also leave a phone message for Diana at 304-926-0499, ext. 1329. For more DEP news and information, go to www.dep.wv.gov. Also, be sure to connect with the agency on all social media platforms. Follow @DEPWV on Twitter and find us on YouTube by searching “Environment Matters.” For specific information about our REAP (Rehabilitation Environmental Action Plan), West Virginia Project WET (Water Education for Teachers), West Virginia Watershed Improvement Branch, Youth Environmental Program and Human Resources initiatives, connect on Facebook. ###

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