Subject: Industrial Landfill Planned for Bruceton Mills
Area
I recently learned that that a developer is
proposing to build and operate a 150 acre industrial landfill about 1 mile south
of Bruceton Mills, in the Little Sandy and Big Sandy watersheds. The
proposed facility would serve as a disposal site for residual brine from natural
gas drilling operations. Residual brine is a term for a by-product of Marcellus
shale drilling, specifically a process called hydro fracturing or fracing.
Water recovered from the fracing process contains a variety of
proprietary compounds in addition to high levels of salt. The used fracking
material is processed and dried. This concentrated, dried material must be
disposed of, and project will concentrate drilling waste from a large area. The
fracking process is not regulated by the state and federal government so no one
knows what chemicals it contains. The WV Department of Environmental Protection
has been informed about this project but has yet to receive their Class F
industrial landfill permit application.
This projects could have serious
effects on the community. Local residents, farm animals, and game species all
depend on surface and ground water and many fracking chemicals have very harmful
effects. The river is also a popular recreational resource, with thousands of
people kayaking, swimming, and hiking beside its waters each year. The Little
Sandy was recently reclaimed, after a multi-million dollar investment, from the
effects of acid mine drainage caused by many years of coal mining, For the first
time in many years the river supports brook trout. This, too, is at
risk.
Marcellus Shale gas is important to the area and to the country. We
all need energy for all facets of life. Like many of my neighbors, I leased my
land for gas exploration and have friends who work in the gas business. I'd like
this work to be successful, but have trouble sifting between environmental hype
and industry spin. Events in the Gulf show that we can't trust industry to do
the right thing. Any advice, contacts, or thoughts are
welcome.
Sincerely,
Charlie Walbridge 1886 Little Sandy Road;
Bruceton Mills, WV 26525 304-379-9002; ccwalbridge@cs.com