DOMINION POST
Longview filing for bankruptcy Judge must approve reorganization plans BY BEN CONLEY AND ALEX LANG The Dominion Post, August 31, 2013
The company overseeing Longview Power Plant has filed for bankruptcy, but will be allowed to reorganize its business. The filing was done Friday in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware. Longview Intermediate Holdings C, LLC filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Under Chapter 11, a business can develop a reorganization plan, which must be approved by a judge.
Longview Power Plant recently opened and began operations in Maidsville. The power plant is a 700 megawatt supercritical coal-fired power facility and one of the most efficient, with lowest air emissions in the country, according to a company news release.
The company lists more than a billion dollars in both assets and liabilities in the filing. According to the filing, the company estimates it will pay back unsecured creditors. The unsecured creditors are the last group to receive money in Chapter 11. Unsecured debtors are not guaranteed to receive their full claims.
Included in the filing is a list of the top 50 unsecured debtors. The largest unsecured debtor is CONSOL, with a claim amount of nearly $800,000. The Monongalia County Sheriff ’s Tax Office is the third highest, with a claim of about $310,000. Mon County entered into a Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILT) agreement with Longview in 2008, which set up a series of annual payments to be paid to the county instead of paying actual property taxes. The payments were scheduled over the next 30 years, increasing annually.
Monongalia County Commissioner Bill Bartolo said representatives of Longview contacted the commission office Friday morning to confirm the bankruptcy filing. “There was a rumor floating around,” Bartolo said. “They claim it will not impact the payment in lieu of taxes. Of course that’s a concern because that impacts the county as well as the board of education.” The annual payments are divided between the county and the board of education, based on the levy rate set by each.
Commissioner Tom Bloom said he was concerned, not only about the PILT, but also about the potential for people losing work. “Being realistic, if you’re going to have to restructure, it’s going to have to come from somewhere,” he said. “I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.” Bartolo agreed. “You can speculate about what if, but at this point, it’s just not prudent to do that.”
Brickstreet Insurance is owed almost $275,000. Forquer Contracting LLC out of Pentress is owed about $142,000. GEC INC out of Bruceton Mills is owed about $120,000. JL Pretzel Contracting LLC, also out of Bruceton Mills, is owed just more than $26,000. Diggler’s Construction LLC out of Kingwood has a claim of $25,200.
Several affiliates are also listed in the filing including Longview Power, LLC, Alternate Energy, LLC, Border Energy, LLC, Coresco, LLC, Dana Mining Co. of Pennsylvania, LLC, Dana Mining Co., LLC, Longview Intermediate Holdings C, LLC, Mepco Conveyor, LLC, Mepco Holdings, LLC, Mepco Intermediate Holdings A, LLC, Mepco Intermediate Holdings, LLC, Mepco, LLC and Shannopin Materials, LLC. Mepco operates three active underground coal mines and one active surface mine, according to the company.
Chrysler went through the same type of bankruptcy. It filed in 2009 and continues to operate and still does business today.
<<< Duane Nichols, Mon Valley Clean Air Coalition >>>>>>
So the truck traffic on Ft. Martin Road will continue for some time to come, Dunkard Creek may never be cleaned up, and coal waste and ash will continue to be dumped in the headwaters of Crooked Run and Craft Run. Cooling water is coming out of the Mon River, and unknown waste streams (quantity and concentration ?) are being injected underground in Pennsylvania.