What is happening
A one million-square-foot water bottling facility is being proposed in Middleway at the old 3M facility. The developers have submitted a concept plan for consideration by the Jefferson County Planning Commission. The Public Workshop (with public comment and vote by the commission) on the Concept Plan will be November 12, 2024 and will vote to reject the concept plan or give direction to the company on continuing to the site plan stage.
The industrial facility in Middleway, known locally as the 3M plant, was run by Eastman Kodak until 2006. The property was remediated through the voluntary remediation program between 2014 and 2019. The groundwater is contaminated with two industrial pollutants (Trichloroethane and cis-1,2 Dichloroethene) and the property contains two closed industrial landfills, contaminated spill ponds, and contaminated soil. In 2020 for a period of time the property was used as a hemp growing facility. Sidewinder Enterprises (which owns the highlighted properties in the above image) has since acquired this facility and several small properties containing part of Turkey Run upstream of Middleway and Lake Louise (a karst water feature that is small in surface area but thought to be very deep in the middle).
The old 3M facility, the subject of this application, is currently zoned Industrial Commercial while the properties owned by the applicant upstream on Turkey Run and Lake Louise are zoned Rural.
The company drilled two commercial wells on the property containing Lake Louise in 2022. At that time the applicant told the engineering company evaluating the wells that it needed 1.728 million gallons per day capacity from these wells. This is the equivalent of 5760 houses worth of water usage. This is a massive amount of water to be bottling up and sending out of the county.
The development ordinance gives the planning commission 45 days to review concept plans for major developments followed by a public workshop. During the public workshop the company will make a presentation of the information they submitted to the planning commission; the public will have an opportunity to make comment on the project and ask the company to make commitments (proffers) regarding its development; the staff will make a presentation on its findings; and then the Commission will ask questions. At the conclusion of the workshop the Planning Commission may place conditions on the developer that must be addressed in the Site Plan (the next step). The planning commissioners may also request that the company proffer that it will commit to doing other things the public has requested.
The issues with this concept plan
There are too many unknowns to evaluate if this land use is permitted in this zone.
Not enough information was provided regarding the land use to determine if this land use is a Principal Permitted Use, a Conditionally Permitted Use, or a Prohibited Use. For this reason, the Concept Plan should be rejected.
In the Jefferson County Zoning and Land Development Ordinance (link) there are three categories of land uses in each zone:
Principal Permitted Uses – Uses with this designation in a zone are allowed by right in that zone. They are still subject to the requirements in the concept plan and the site plan process but the use is allowed by right.
Conditionally Permitted Use – Uses with this designation in a zone are only allowed if they obtain a conditional use permit from the Board of Zoning Appeals. The board of zoning appeals may rejector or place requirements or restriction on a conditional use permit.
Prohibited Use – Uses with this designation in a zone are not allowed in that zone.
When a concept plan is submitted to the Planning Commission (the first step in the development process) the staff and the planning commission members must determine if the land use is permitted in the zone where the subject property is located. If the use is a Principal Permitted Use the application may continue to the concept plan process. If the land use requires a conditional use permit the concept plan must be rejected and the developers must proceed to the Board of Zoning Appeals to apply for a conditional use permit. If the land use is a prohibited use the concept plan should be rejected.
The concept plan does not indicate where the water will be sourced. Because of this, it cannot be determined if this land use is permitted in this zone.
It is unknown where the water will be sourced.
This information is not provided and depending on where the water is sourced there are considerations not address in the current concept plan submission that would affect how the concept plan is considered.
Water from groundwater wells: This is water extraction. Water extraction is not contemplated in the zoning ordinance. However, mineral extraction which is similar (extracting something from the ground) to water extraction is a conditional use in the Industrial Commercial zone and not allowed in the rural zone. The subject property is zoned Industrial Commercial. According to the Voluntary Remediation Plan deed restriction (link) the ground water at the subject property is contaminated with TCE (Trichloroethylene). Will they be bottling this water?
Water from Turkey Run on the subject property: Is the flow of Turkey Run sufficient?
Water from Turkey Run or Lake Louise off of the subject property: While the applicant (Sidewinder) owns Lake Louise and the property around upper Turkey Run, this land is not included in the Application. The land around Lake Louise and Turkey Run is zoned Rural. Mineral extraction (similar to water extraction) is a Not Permitted Use in the Rural zone.
Water from wells tapping Lake Louise: It is our understanding that the developer attempted to drill wells on the property containing Lake Louise. The land where these wells are drilled is not included in the application and therefore should not include part of the project. The land where these wells are is zoned Rural which does not allow extraction.
If the developer does not know where the water will be sourced at this time then the application should be rejected until the property owner knows more information about their development. If the developer knows where the water will be sourced, it needs to be made public and the public allowed to comment on its use.
The concept plan does not contain the statutorily required elements.
Sinkholes and Rock outcroppings – Section 24.119 B.3.c. of the Jefferson County Subdivision and Land Development Regulations requires that the Site Resource Map detail prominent rock outcroppings and sinkholes. The Site Resource Map provided in the concept plan does not detail either of these items. This is important because these karst features may be important in groundwater is being extracted from the site.
The properties owned by the applicant that contain Lake Louise and Turkey Run are not included in the application if these resources are to be utilized in the development or operation then these properties should be included.
The concept plan should be rejected until all information is provided.
Groundwater availability and effects on Karst hydrogeology is not addressed.
Extracting groundwater for bottling and commercial sale should not be allowed.
Groundwater should be reserved for rural domestic uses, farming, and livestock. Farms cannot rely on groundwater brought in from outside sources. Without ample accessible groundwater in this area of the county, farming will cease to be viable. At the very least the company should be required to have a comprehensive water study performed by a third party approved by the county to show the amount of water that could be extracted without impacting ground water availability to surrounding properties.
Excessive water extraction can cause hazards in karst hydrogeology. In karst hydrology there can be large caverns or spaces below ground that are filled with water. The water supports the walls and roof if these cavers. As groundwater is drawn down significantly this support is removed and the roof of these large spaces can collapse creating cover collapse sinkholes. These sinkholes are large and can cause a sudden catastrophic collapse. This could make driving large heavy farming equipment over the land (planting, harvesting) more dangerous.
The Concept Plan should be rejected until a comprehensive water study has been performed and water extraction should be limited to the amount that this water study shows can be removed without effects on the water table.
The expected traffic patterns for the trucks accessing and leaving the facility and the effect on the historic village of Middleway is not addressed or mitigated.
Large trucks leaving the facility will need to travel through downtown Middleway or down a succession of several small rural roads for more than 12 miles before reaching a major road.
Traffic including large trucks going to and from the facility traveling through downtown Middleway could over time damage the historic buildings and roads in downtown Middleway due to the weight of the trucks and the vibration. These large trucks will pose a safety concern in Middleway. If these trucks choose to travel on the rural roads to avoid traveling through Middleway, this could also cause traffic safety concerns because these are small farming roads not designed for heavy truck traffic.
This concept plan should not be approved until there is more information provided regarding the traffic and the potential hazards are adequately and appropriately mitigated.
Take Action
Attend and give public comment.
Suggested comments – Ask the Planning Commission to:
- Reject the concept plan because it does not have enough information to determine if it is a permitted use in this zone. We don’t know where the water will be sourced.
- Reject the concept plan because water extraction is not a permitted use in the Industrial Commercial zone or the Rural zone.
- Reject the concept plan because it is incomplete and did not provide the appropriate elements on the Site Resource Map.
- Reject the concept plan because the traffic impacts have not been appropriately addressed.
- If in the alternative the Planning Commission accepts the concept plan and gives direction to the company for the site plan ask the Planning Commission to place conditions on their direction requiring that the company:
- Not draw directly from surface water off of the property included zoned Industrial Commercial included in the concept plan, and,
- Not use groundwater or water from Lake Louise.
Send in written public comment by November 5, 2024. Send to planningdepartment@jeffersoncountywv.org or use our portal below.
Send a Comment
Use our portal to send to the Jefferson County Planning Commissioners and staff. Please adda a personal comment to make sure it’s seen by commissioners. Written comments are due by November 5!