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  • 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!