Medical waste plant not coming to Follansbee

Follansbee City Council announced Monday night the medical waste plant proposal will be scrapped. "Empire is terminating the pursuit of medical waste,” Mayor David Velegol said.

Council received a call on Monday morning from Empire Green Generation Chairman Bill Torto with a new position.

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"He says he really wants to do a hard retake with the City of Follansbee and start over and start fresh, but part of that is terminating the medical waste,” Velegol said.

Velegol is pleased with, not just the outcome, but with the citizens of the city and their response. "All the procedures were followed properly and that was really our goal, and certainly our citizens didn't want it and it was a high-percentage type thing,” Velegol said. “And we always talk about being the voice of our citizens and I think we did that.

"We have some brilliant citizens. They really dug into the codes, other projects like that. It was nice watching them work and dig in and be part of the process."

Additionally, the building which was initially the setting for the medical waste treatment plant will be repurposed. Council will discuss the state and purpose of the building over the next two weeks.