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  • July 4, 2020

Rebutting the recent article in the Spirit of Jefferson on July 1, 2020

The Spirit of Jefferson published another Rockwool propaganda piece on July 1, 2020, with no apparent regard for the facts and no effort made to cite real sources. Here is our fact-based rebuttal. 

120 vs. 150 Jobs

In May of 2019, Rockwool finalized a deal with the West Virginia Economic Development Authority (WVEDA). This deal was a bond lease agreement in which the WVEDA will take ownership of Rockwool’s land and property for 10 years, which means Rockwool will not need to pay property tax during that time. The WVEDA also promised Rockwool up to $150 million in loans fulfilled with state-backed bonds. When it came time to sign the agreement on the dotted line, Rockwool was willing to commit only to “120 full-time equivalent jobs.” And in another WVEDA deal, this time in November 2019 to obtain state help to pay for its water lines, Rockwool again committed only to “120 full-time equivalent jobs.” That is one-fifth less than the 150 jobs the July 1 article claims.

Downloads

Spirit Rebuttal
Fact SheetDownload
WVEDA Rockwool Bond deal May 2, 2019Download
Deloitte Economic Impact Study – Project ShuttleDownload
Ranson 2017-2018 BudgetDownload

Good paying jobs? Depends on your math.

Figure 1. Source, City of Ranson, West Virginia Proposed Fiscal Year 2017-2018 Budget

The article also repeated a claim of Espinosa, who apparently said that Rockwool would “generate” between $500,000 and $750,000 in taxes to Ranson a year. It would be very interesting to know what taxes these would be. According to Ranson’s 2017-2018 budget, the Revenue for the General Fund has three major sources: the Ad Valorem or property tax, B&O tax, and the 1% sales tax (Figure 1). With the execution of the WVEDA bond lease agreement as discussed above, Rockwool will have no property tax obligation and therefore, Ranson will collect no Ad Valorem Tax from Rockwool. The 1% sales tax is collected on retail sales and since Rockwool will have no appreciable retail sales in Ranson it therefore will not generate revenue for Ranson through the retail sales tax. B&O tax is also assessed on sales. The plant in Ranson is a manufacturing operation and Rockwool’s sales will likely be made from their headquarters in New Jersey. Therefore, Ranson is unlikely to collect any B&O tax from Rockwool either. The remainder of the taxes that round out the revenue for the Ranson General Fund are Hotel-Motel Tax, Fines and Fees, Charges to Other Funds, Garbage Service, Utility Tax, and Wine and Liquor. It is not plausible that Rockwool will be contributing significantly to any of these revenue streams. Where will this half- to three-quarters of a million dollars in tax revenue from Rockwool come from?

Paul Espinosa, public affairs manager for Rockwool Ranson and current member of the West Virginia House of Delegates (representing District 66), is cited as claiming that Rockwool’s employees will make on average $42,700 a year. This is a notable reduction from what was promised. A 2017 Deloitte economic impact study we obtained via FOIA, which was used to convince local leaders in the JCDA and elsewhere to support Rockwool, claimed the average yearly salary would be $46,611. Espinosa’s claim thus represents a surprising $3,911 per year reduction, or a more than 9% lower average pay from what was promised. Worse yet, according to the Deloitte economic impact study, paid for by Rockwool, the majority of workers (117 of them) will make an average of $31,000 a year – nowhere close to the $46,611 a year that was used to woo our public representatives.

$750,000 vs. nearly nothing


Figure 2. Source, Deloitte Economic Impact Study: Project Shuttle

It is likely that by “generate” Espinosa was slyly referring to “Indirect and Induced taxes” not taxes Rockwool will actually pay. This calculated estimated, explained in the Deloitte study, considers taxes generated by “business-to-business and household expenditure activities arising from the direct impact of Rockwool’s operations”. The issue is as explained above these business-to-business transactions will not occur in Ranson to any significant extent, because Rockwool’s suppliers are outside of Ranson. Similarly, the employees of Rockwool’s suppliers likely live nearer to those businesses and pay taxes there. Further may of the taxes taken into consideration in this calculation are state and federal not municipal taxes as can be seen in table 8.

The article also published Rockwool’s claim that for the first 10 years Rockwool will pay $40,000 in property and “other taxes.” Is Espinosa referring here to a payment in lieu of taxes? If so, we note that no payment in lieu of taxes is called for in the May 2019 WVEDA deal (which simply absolves Rockwool of their property tax burden altogether for a decade) and no other agreement providing for payments of this type can be found. And the article fails to say that only a minor portion (17%, according to the 2019 levy rate sheet) of this property tax money would go to Ranson no matter how much is paid. 

Unexplained projections?

Espinosa further touts a $21.8 million yearly increase in economic activity in the county and claims that $5 million of that will be in Ranson. Frankly any rational consideration of this representation indicates it is impossible. What goods will Rockwool purchase in Ranson? There are no quarries in Ranson, no coal mines, no fracking pads, no formaldehyde concentrate dealers, no liquid oxygen suppliers – so what is Rockwool buying in Ranson to produce this $5 million impact? It is not plausible that this will all come from employee spending in Ranson. Even if every employee spent every last dollar they made after taxes and Rockwool indeed paid out $6.4 million in payroll it would not amount to $5 million in impact. This is just another in the long line of misleading and easily disproven claims to be made by Rockwool in its efforts to bring heavy industry to Jefferson County. 

  • June 25, 2020

Ranson has decided to continue the hearing on a different date. They did vote on June 23 as reported from several sources. However, they will not act on this vote. They will hear the remainder of the speakers at a different time and then vote again. They are going to allow members of the public to speak who were not able to tell it was their turn. This meeting will be on the Tuesday, June 30 at 7:00 p.m.

Jefferson County Foundation would like to thank Billie Garde, our in-house lawyer and board member, for all of her hard work on this into the late night last night and this morning. Your leadership and dedication are inspiring and we are all grateful!

HOLD THE LINE!

Help us keep up the fight. Donate (tax deductible) today.

  • May 9, 2020

April 19, 2020

The Jefferson County Foundation continues to work hard on multiple fronts to serve the people of our region. This report covers the Foundation’s activity in April thus far. Contact us to receive updates directly at https://bit.ly/3anQcIr. As always, we sincerely appreciate your support of our work. http://bit.ly/33yxyKc

Foundation Files Constitutional Challenge to Illegal Tax Breaks for Rockwool 

This past week, Jefferson County Foundation formally filed a lawsuit in the Kanawha County Circuit Court against the West Virginia Economic Development Authority (WVEDA) and Roxul USA, Inc. alleging the unconstitutionality of the WVEDA’s resolution to authorize tax breaks for Rockwool. The WVEDA disregarded clear local community opposition to the Rockwool project and authorized up to $150 million in state bonds secured by Rockwool’s Ranson property which would be held by the state for up to 10 years during which time Rockwool would not pay taxes. This scheme is blatantly unfair and illegal as it allows uneven application of tax laws which is prohibited by Article X of the West Virginia Constitution. On the Foundation’s legal team for this challenge is a leading West Virginia constitutional law scholar from WVU Law. To read about the complaint, go here: http://bit.ly/2wWTbte

Foundation Seeks Legal Stay of Route 9 Sewer Construction Until Proper Permitting Put in Place 

On April 6, Jefferson County Foundation filed a Motion to Stay to stop the construction of the Route 9 Sewer until the public comment period and the new permit registration under the 2019 construction stormwater general permit could be approved. Importantly, the 2019 permit requires a Karst Mitigation Plan be developed and followed. Unfortunately, the Order under which construction is currently taking place allows work to be done under the 2012 permit conditions, which lack Karst Mitigation Plan requirements. Because of the karst hydrogeology of the area in which the sewer is being installed, there are both immediate and long-term risks to the groundwater.

On Wednesday, April 15, there was a hearing on the Motion to Stay before the WV Environmental Quality Board (“EQB”). Through its counsel the Foundation argued that if the area aquifers were contaminated with construction runoff or sewage, this would be an irreparable harm and that suspension of the construction was appropriate to make the process safer. Charles Town and CTUB hired counsel to represent them in this proceeding, likely paying thousands of dollars of taxpayer money to argue against the Foundation’s request to temporarily stop the construction so that appropriate precautions could be taken. For their part, Rockwool and Snyder Environmental also intervened in the Foundation’s appeal of the WV Department of Environmental Protection (“DEP”) action. The way the Foundation sees it, they argued that their time and money is more important than protecting our environment. The lawyer from Snyder Environmental in fact said that if there was some sort of contamination, damages could just be paid. While we realize this is how corporate lawyers usually think, this is relatively shocking coming from a locally owned business that purports to care about the local people. In the end, unfortunately, the EQB sided with those who argued that they would lose money if the project was suspended until appropriate permit conditions could be applied and met.

We are sorely disappointed that Snyder Environmental, Inc. and the City of Charles Town will be allowed to complete the Rockwool sewer without proper compliance with the appropriate permit’s conditions that would have protected Jefferson County water. The WVEQB did not recognize the irreparable harm caused by not having appropriate karst protections in place. If something happens in the future due to the ways this sewer is being built, we should all remember the response of these parties to the Foundation’s straightforward request that there be compliance with the right construction stormwater permit. Jefferson County Foundation is evaluating next steps on this matter.

Foundation Files Comments on Charles Town Construction Stormwater Permit Application

On Friday, the Foundation submitted public comment on Charles Town’s Construction Stormwater General Permit Registration Application to the DEP. You can read our comments here (https://bit.ly/3anQcIr). The public submitted almost 100 comments via our website to the DEP. When asked to supply more detail in the GPP (Groundwater Protection Plan) to make it site specific, CTUB instead just whited out the word generic and construction site and wrote in the route 9, and added no further detail (see the photo. We did not edit these, it’s all CTUB). We will be keeping an eye on this proceeding and will keep you posted.

Foundation Follows Up on Millville Violations Complaint 

This week, the Foundation’s permitting and monitoring teams followed up to confirm appropriate actions are being taken to address Millville Quarry stormwater violations from the March 11 inspection conducted as a result of our DEP complaint. Limestone sludge had been previously found to be running into the Shenandoah River through an unpermitted outlet. The Millville Quarry has reported to the DEP inspector that they have improved their stormwater handling but they have still not removed the sludge from the outlet or the culvert. We are pleased to report that the DEP inspector assigned to this matter is working diligently to ensure they come into compliance. We would like to thank her for her dedication and hard work on this issue.

Jefferson County Foundation Supports WV Rivers Coalition Work on Important Regulation 

We encourage you to submit public comment to the DEP to oppose the use of a weakened standard for assessing aquatic life as part of water quality compliance testing. Our friends at WV Rivers have made it easy to submit comments on their website and they have great information on the subject here: https://wvrivers.salsalabs.org/wvdepbiologicalas…/index.html

  • April 5, 2020

Jefferson County Foundation continues to stand up for the protection of the ground and surface water resources in Jefferson County and the surrounding region. We’re pushing forward this week on several permitting issues related to Rockwool. If you want to help support our legal efforts, please consider making a fully tax deductible donation: http://bit.ly/33yxyKc

Appeal of the DEP Order Filed

On April 1, 2020, Jefferson County Foundation filed an Appeal with the Environmental Quality Board of the DEP Order that is allowing the City of Charles Town to construct the super sewer to Rockwool without a Construction Stormwater General Permit registration. The City started work on the super sewer to Rockwool 17 days after they submitted the application for this registration. This application required review by the DEP and a 30-day public comment period, which the City clearly did not intend to wait for. The Foundation filed several complaints of this work without a permit. Instead of requiring the City to stop work until the permitting process was complete, the DEP gave an Order allowing the City to continue to work without a permit. This Order allows them to work under void permit conditions, and self regulate. Despite multiple complaints to the DEP, Snyder Environmental, under the supervision of the City, continues to fail to meet even the minimum standards. Read the appeal: https://bit.ly/3awAr2F

Make a difference – Submit a public comment on Charles Town’s Construction Stormwater General Permit Registration application

This permit is woefully insufficient to protect the ground and surface water of Jefferson County and beyond from contamination now and into the future. Please go to the Make a Difference page and send a public comment on the registration application to the DEP. Go here: http://bit.ly/30n6UV3

Submission of the Ranson Petition

Jefferson County Foundation supported the citizens group that submitted the petition to decrease the corporate limits of Ranson by removing the pipe stem annexation of Tackley Mills and Jefferson Orchards. This petition will trigger a vote in Ranson in which all registered voters can vote. If a majority of voters want this land to move back to the County, then it will go back to the County. This will give the people who live in the county right around this land a say in the development and oversight of this sensitive land right next to their house. This will also prevent Ranson citizens from paying for services to an industrial area out in the county. We hope the county will better represent the wishes of the people and lead the development of this land in a responsible direction.

EQB Hearing Date is Set

The Environmental Quality Board has set a hearing date for Jefferson County Foundation’s appeal of Rockwool Construction Stormwater General Permit. The hearing has been set for July 9 and 10.

Millville Quarry Update

Following complaints from Jefferson County Foundation to the DEP about Millville’s discharge to the Shenandoah River, a DEP inspector performed an inspection on March 11. Millville had 20 days to resolve the violations as set out in the inspection report. On repeat evaluation by the same inspector this week, Millville had improved some of the issues but had not resolved them all, including removing the limestone sludge form the stream bed tributary of the Shenandoah. They have been given until Monday to resolve the violations. We will be monitoring.

  • March 29, 2020

Jefferson County Foundation continues to stand up for the protection of the ground and surface water resources in Jefferson County and the surrounding region. We’ve been busy, and we won’t be slowing down. If you want to help support our legal efforts, please consider making a fully tax deductible donation: http://bit.ly/33yxyKc

On March 26, Jefferson County Foundation filed an Appeal of Rockwool’s Construction Stormwater Permit Registration with the West Virginia Environmental Quality Board (EQB). The appeal alleges that the current permit and the original permit do not adequately protect the vulnerable water recourses of our county or region. We also allege that the combination of Rockwool providing inaccurate information in its original permit, DEP not adequately reviewing the original permit, and the DEP not requiring Rockwool to reapply any of the multiple times it should have eliminated every appropriate time for public to participate in this process and stopped us from eliminating these deficiencies in the permit. See the full story and the Appeal here: https://bit.ly/2QUF92t

On the March 24, Jefferson County Foundation sent Charles Town Mayor Bob Trainor a letter asking him to suspend work on the Route 9 sewer project until the public comment period is over. We realize that although they have an order allowing them to continue, this circumvents the appropriate permitting process. We asked that the city of Charles Town respect the permitting process and the public’s right to participate by stopping work until public comment and the permitting process is over. This is only made more important by the fact that this project is not occurring in the city of Charles Town and therefore those affected cannot vote for the mayor or city council in Charles Town. The public comment through the DEP is the only way those affected can have an effect on this process.

Over 50 people sent a letter through our website asking them to stop work on the Route 9 sewer project until public comment period is over. To send your own letter, go here: http://bit.ly/30n6UV3

On March 25, Jefferson County Foundation, working with Rural Agriculture Defenders, sent a fourth official complaint to the DEP asking them to require the City of Charles Town and Snyder Environmental Inc. to put stormwater controls in place on the Route 9 sewer project. Our previous complaints stimulated an onsite inspection on March 25. We are awaiting the inspection report.

On March 27, Jefferson County Foundation, working with Eastern Panhandle Protectors, filed a complaint to DEP asking them to get more information on the intentions of Mountaineer Gas. It seems they are installing the last few miles of pipeline required to service Rockwool. Mountaineer Gas does not have a construction stormwater permit registration for this work. Our previous complaints triggered an onsite inspection where several violations were noted, but they were not cited. Mountaineer Gas convinced the DEP they were not disturbing more than one acre, however, just a few days later, they were constructing further down on the same pipeline. Mountaineer Gas may try to piecemeal the project to avoid requiring a permit. We are keeping an eye on them!

  • March 26, 2020

Today, Jefferson County Foundation filed an appeal of Rockwool’s Construction Stormwater permit registration with the West Virginia Environmental Quality Board. The Foundation is standing up for the protection of the ground and surface water resources in Jefferson County and the surrounding region.

Read the appeal.

The DEP has allowed Rockwool to operate on this original permit from its first issuance on October 19, 2017 until February 25, 2020. Several times, the DEP neglected to require Rockwool to apply for and obtain a re-registration despite significant modifications to the permit, including increased limit of disturbance, grading beyond one year, and significant modification to the permit by addition of a sinkhole remediation plan. By doing so, the DEP eliminated every opportunity the public had to give input on and point out the inadequacies of this permit to protect our vulnerable groundwater resources. This has allowed Rockwool to construct for over two years without correcting these major errors in its stormwater design.

Red line shows limit of disturbance. Yellow highlighted area shows high risk area for sinkholes.

DEP’s initial review of Rockwool’s Construction Stormwater permit application was insufficient and left our water resources vulnerable to contamination during construction and in the years to come. Rockwool failed to provide adequate and accurate information in their application allowing them to avoid public notice and public comment in October 2017 on this original permit. Specifically, they did not follow the requirement for reporting their limit of disturbance; they reported it as 98.9 acres and failed to include the acreage from the common plan of development as is required in the permit conditions.

Zoomed in image shows sinkholes in areas within the limit of disturbance, which are mostly located where the large ponds are on the property as shown in the drone photo above.

All projects over 100 acres are required to go to public notice and public comment. Rockwool claimed the construction of their plant would only require 24 weeks (recall they started on November 1, 2017 and is still not complete!). All projects with grading lasting greater than one year require public notice and public comment. By misreporting and misrepresenting this information, Rockwool was able to avoid public notice in more ways than one in Fall 2017. Had they had public notice, we may have been aware of this project prior to the sneaky publication of the air permit notice the day before Thanksgiving in 2017, and we may have been looking for it, giving us the opportunity to challenge it at the time. Furthermore, it strains credulity to think the DEP did not realize that these two parameters were drastically underreported. The DEP should have required the limit of disturbance include the common plan of development and should have required public notice and public comment in October 2017.

The Foundation is pursuing every available means to correct this situation and protect the vulnerable groundwater resources in Jefferson County and surrounding region.

Thank you to all that have donated in support of our legal fight against Rockwool. If you would like to contribute, please go to bit.ly/33yxyKc

Millville Quarry sludge
  • March 15, 2020

It has been a busy March for Jefferson County Foundation and we wanted to update you on some of the things we have been working on.

On March 11, the Foundation sent notice that its intends to file suit in Kanawha County Circuit Court to block the state from illegally exempting Rockwool from real and personal taxes on a proposed industrial facility in Jefferson County. On May 2, 2019, the West Virginia Economic Development Authority (WVEDA) authorized the issuance of up to $150 million in lease revenue bonds for a term of up to 10 years, during which the WVEDA would hold title to Rockwool’s Jefferson Orchards property which includes approximately 130 acres of land. The Foundation’s complaint asks for the invalidation of the WVEDA’s May 2 action including cancellation of plans for any government agency to take title of the Rockwool property. Read the full story here.

On March 2, Jefferson County Foundation filed an official complaint with the WVDEP because work had been started on the Route 9 sewer project without a valid Construction Stormwater Permit, and an appropriate public notice sign had not been posted. The permit writer required CTUB to fix the public notice sign and correct the permit application to reflect that public notice and comment were required based on the length of the project. Unfortunately, several days later, the WVDEP issued an order that will allow the Route 9 sewer installation to continue without a Construction Stormwater Permit. We are continuing to monitor the project closely and evaluating the options going forward. See the notice here.

On March 6, the Foundation filed an official complaint with the WVDEP detailing what was perceived to be an illegal discharge from the Millville Quarry into the Shenandoah River. A WVDEP inspection on March 11 of the site revealed the discharge was in fact coming from the Millville Quarry and a notice of violation was issued to the Quarry. We appreciate the WVDEP Division of Mining and Reclamation pursuing this in a timely and definitive manner. See the investigation and complaint here.

On March 13, the Foundation filed an official complaint with the WVDEP, the WV Department of Natural Recourses, and the US Army Corp of Engineers detailing what seems to be an illegal discharge into the Opequon Creek and other Clean Water Act violations from a construction site where Mountaineer Gas is installing natural gas pipeline to connect Rockwool to natural gas. The complaint asked that an inspection be done and work be stopped until these violations were addressed.

On January 27, the Foundation requested that an inspection be done at the Rockwool facility, because several new sinkholes had been reported to the Foundation. The WVDEP conducted an inspection in early February of Rockwool and the adjacent DOH project being conducted by Ranson and performed by Jefferson Asphalt – Northport Station road extension. While the inspectors found several violations related to sinkhole remediation, they did not issue a notice of violation to Rockwool. They said that it was because Rockwool was able to fix the violations during the visit. However, the Northport Station project had several volitions resulting in a notice of violation. See the notice of violation here.

If you are interested in supporting this work, please consider making a fully tax deductible donation. For more information on how to do this, please visit our donation page.

  • March 13, 2020

Leading constitutional scholar leads Jefferson County taxpayers challenge to tax forgiveness scheme that illegally favors Denmark-based multinational over other West Virginia taxpayers

Citing clear language in the West Virginia State Constitution in its support, Jefferson County Foundation sent notice that its intends to file suit in Kanawha County Circuit Court to block the state from illegally exempting Rockwool from real and personal taxes on a proposed industrial facility in Jefferson County.

Download Jefferson County Foundation’s Complaint (.pdf)

West Virginia University Law School Professor Robert M. Bastress filed the complaint along with co-counsel law firms Arnold & Bailey, PLLC and DiPeiro, Simmons, McGinley & Bastress PLLC. A noted constitutional law authority, Professor Bastress has litigated and written extensively on the history and meaning of the state constitution and is the author of The West Virginia State Constitution (Oxford University Press, 2016).

On May 2, 2019, the West Virginia Economic Development Authority (WVEDA) authorized the issuance of up to $150 million in lease revenue bonds for a term of up to 10 years, during which the WVEDA would hold title to Rockwool’s Jefferson Orchards property which includes approximately 130 acres of land. Jefferson County Foundation’s complaint alleges that the arrangement violates Article X, Section 1 of the West Virginia Constitution since WVEDA’s interest in the Jefferson Orchards property would be exempt from ad valorem taxes, and as a result, Rockwool would not have to pay the same real and property taxes as other individual and business taxpayers in the state.

WVEDA’s May 2019 action in Charleston took place even as the Circuit Court in Jefferson County was considering a challenge to a similar tax-relief scheme using a so-called Payment In Lieu of Taxes (PILOT) agreement involving Rockwool, the Jefferson County Development Authority, and other county and local and state government entities. In August 2019, the court ruled the PILOT agreement to be invalid without having to reach the issue of its constitutionality.

“West Virginia’s constitution is clear in its requirement that ‘taxation shall be equal and uniform’ and the WVEDA’s action equally clearly violates it,” observed Professor Bastress. Co-counsel Christopher Stroech of Arnold & Bailey added, “this case presents an ideal opportunity to confirm and clarify the scope of the Constitution’s tax uniformity clause, especially in light of the invalidation of the Rockwool PILOT agreement on other grounds.”

Dr. Christine Wimer, president of Jefferson County Foundation, commented that “individual taxpayers, like me, as well as long-time West Virginia businesses who aren’t getting these lucrative tax breaks, are treated unfairly and unequally when the WVEDA abuses its power this way.” She continued, “Jefferson County’s location in the Eastern Panhandle combined with a well-educated workforce and robust local economy means that such tax breaks are not only unfair and unconstitutional, they are not needed to attract employers and investment. They also unnecessarily drain money from public services such as schools, infrastructure, and emergency services.”

Jefferson County Foundation’s complaint asks for the invalidation of the WVEDA’s May 2 action including cancellation of plans for any government agency to take title of the Rockwool property.

The complaint can be found here.

Charleston WV from bridge
  • February 2, 2020

Jefferson County Foundation Submits a Petition to the WVDEP

On Sunday, January 26, Jefferson County Foundation submitted a petition to Secretary Caperton of the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection (WVDEP), asking that he require Rockwool to apply for and obtain an individual NPDES permit rather than a registration under the general industrial permit. This will allow better provisions and oversight to be added into the permit to protect the water resources of Jefferson County, Northern Virginia, Maryland, and the Chesapeake Bay. See the petition and exhibits on the documents page of our website.

Charleston Meetings

Jefferson County Foundation, with technical experts, met with senior government officials of the WVDEP on Monday, January 27, and shared our concerns with the stormwater construction, stormwater industrial and the air permits. Foundation president Chrissy Wimer joined members from JCV, EPGC, and Citizen Scientists in meeting with Delegate Paul Espinosa and the DEP during the E-Day activities in Charleston on January 28. The meeting with Espinosa was disappointing, but illuminating. While he said he was in favor of local control of development, he would not condemn the state driven WVEDA $150M bond agreement that usurped the desire of the local people and local development authority. He defended Rockwool, his employer, and denied that process water would be stored in the Rainwater for Reuse pond, but after showing him the site plan that clearly showed the storage, he conceded that some process water goes into the rainwater for reuse pond. He did not have any opinion or knowledge about the multiple house bills with environmental impact; in fact, he said he had not reviewed any of them.

Plumbing Plans

Through the FOIA, Jefferson County Foundation has obtained more up-to-date plumbing plans from the Charles Town City Council. Unfortunately, these plans still do not show where the samples for CTUB will be taken or the industrial effluent that will go to CTUB. Alarmingly, it still shows process water from inside buildings going to the rainwater for reuse pond. Please plan to attend the CTCC sewer workshop on February 12, which will feature Rockwool explaining to the CTCC and its experts the various risks to the Charles Town water treatment facility from Rockwool’s operations.

Millville Quarry Air Permit Update

Over 250 public comments were submitted to the WVDEP on the newest Millville Quarry temporary air permit through the Jefferson County Foundation website. It seems these public comments are already having an effect. Millville has requested to have their R13-3434T temporary permit (previous temporary permit) “retired.” On  January 10, a DEP inspection was done to verify that the equipment associated with that permit had been removed from the site. Check out the Foundation’s public comment and recent communications between DEP and the Millville Quarry on the Documents page of our website. 

Community Forum on Rockwool
  • January 12, 2020

Jefferson County Foundation’s Legal Counsel Filed a Reply with the EQB

On Thursday, January 9, the Foundation’s Counsel filed a Reply to the Objection of the Builders Supply Association of West Virginia to the Foundation’s Motion to Intervene on appeal 19-13-EQB. Appeal 19-13-EQB was filed with the Environmental Quality Board (EQB) by the Builders Supply Association of West Virginia and appealed the newest version of the General multi-sector stormwater permit.  They claimed that the newest version of the permit was too onerous. The Motion to Intervene on EQB appeal 19-13-EQB was filed by Jefferson County Foundation and eight co-interveners on December 4, 2019. We are fighting to keep these protective provisions in the permit so that it is more protective of our ground water resources. Next, the EQB will decide on our motion and the hearing date is set for mid-February. Read about the reply and motion in more detail here.

The Foundation is Fighting for Transparency on Rockwool’s Plumbing Plans 

On Monday, January 6, Foundation President Chrissy Wimer presented at the Charles Town City Council (CTCC) encouraging the City to get the updated Rockwool plumbing plans. It was disclosed in this meeting that the city intentionally avoided the need for public involvement in the council’s meeting with the City’s sewer engineer. Apparently, the council was divided up into small groups to meet with the City engineer, avoiding a quorum, and therefore the need to hold public meetings. The meetings were not noticed and they were closed to the public. Planning and conducting a series of small meetings to avoid having an open meeting is a violation of the Open Meetings Act. Check out the Open Meetings Act information here.

On Tuesday, the Foundation submitted a FOIA request to Charles Town to illuminate, for the public, what happened in these meetings and how they came about. Stay tuned to find out what happened.

Foundation Presented to the Loudoun Board of Supervisors

Tuesday, January 7, Foundation President Chrissy Wimer presented during the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors meeting about the Millville Quarry temporary air permit, and encouraged them to contact the EPA and DEP. Several of the Supervisors were interested and engaged on the subject. The Foundation sent letters with more information to the Supervisors and the Mayors and Councils of the seven closest towns in Virginia.

Over 250 Public Comments Submitted to the DEP from the Foundation Website

On Friday, January 10, the Foundation submitted detailed written public comment to the DEP asking that the Millville Quarry temporary air permit be denied. The public submitted over 250 public comments to the DEP on the Millville Quarry temporary air permit through the Foundation website. We thank you for taking the time to get this done. It has implications for our air and our fight against Rockwool.

Community Forum on Rockwool

The Community Forum on Rockwool held Friday, January 3 was a great success. We hope everyone found it helpful and we thank you for attending. We hope to make this a recurring event. If you missed the Forum, please check out the video.

Future Filings

This weekend, we are working on upcoming filings. If you have time to get involved this weekend, check out our Make a Difference page. If you would like to support our ongoing legal fight against Rockwool, please make a fully tax deductible donation on our donate page. If you have questions, don’t hesitate to contact us.