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  • June 17, 2021

Jefferson County Foundation filed a Motion for Stay today with the Environmental Quality Board (EQB) to stop Rockwool from operating under their current Operational Stormwater Permit. If approved by the board, Rockwool will have to delay operations until the case in the matter is resolved.

Click here to read the Motion for Stay and accompanying exhibits. (PDF)

Engineering Expert Warns of “Irreparable Harm”

Rockwool is expected to begin full production on June 22. The undersized design of the stormwater handling system will lead to ponding and carrying of pollution from raw and in-process materials to unintended locations and the groundwater. The Foundation’s engineering expert, Ryan Linthicum, P.E., LEED AP, says, “As stated in my report ‘if not corrected immediately, the RAN-5 Facility will not drain effectively or as portrayed in Figure 3 of The SWPPP resulting in a flawed pollution prevention analysis subjecting the surrounding surface and groundwater to risk of contamination.” He goes on to say, “Left uncontrolled and untreated, industrial water entering the groundwater that flows through the below grade karst matrix in this area would then result in irreparable harm to the groundwater and surrounding environment.”

Click here to read engineering expert Linthicum’s report from June 17, 2021 (PDF).

Click here to read engineering expert Linthicum’s report from April 20, 2021 (PDF).

Well-Developed Karst Subject to Environmental Risks

The issues regarding the increased risk “associated with the RAN 5 project shows that the facility is located on a well-developed karst landscape and aquifer and is subject to the environmental risks expected in such a hydrogeologic setting.” In his report from April 20, 2021, Foundation hydrogeology expert, Dr. Chris Groves, states the risks include, “… the potential both for sinkhole development and groundwater contamination. These are related in the sense that loss of structural support that can occur with sinkhole development could compromise the function of stormwater and/or chemical containment structures. In the case of a release groundwater impacts could be catastrophic in ecological terms, and potentially creating human disruptions by polluting groundwater, springs, and the surface waters to which these springs flow.”

Click here to read Hydrogeology Expert Groves’ Report from April 20, 2021 (PDF)

Costly Contaminated Groundwater Cleanup

The majority of residents in Jefferson County rely on groundwater for their drinking water, and even more people downstream of this aquifer rely on surface water that would be impacted by stormwater contamination at this site. Contaminated groundwater is extremely hard to contain and clean up; it’s also costly. The Appellants state in their Motion that while the Intervenor (Rockwool) will argue that granting the stay will create economic issues for their operations, “they pale in comparison to the impacts contaminated groundwater can have on a community.”

The Foundation awaits the chance to argue the merits of this Motion for Stay with the EQB. Stay tuned for further developments.

  • June 13, 2021

Jefferson County Foundation asks WV EQB to reopen Rockwool Construction Stormwater Permit appeal after bombshell emails discovered from DEP

It seems that the WV Department of Environmental Protection’s (DEP) permit review process has been tainted by political pressure disregarding the environmental impact of Rockwool’s factory construction in Jefferson County. In an email thread that started on January 14, 2020, Yogesh Patel, Assistant Director of the Water and Waste Management division and supervisor of the permit writing team, tells the permit reviewer, Rick Adams, “Permit need (sic) to get it out on or before 01/24/2020.” Adams pushes back, stating, “I don’t think we can get permit out by Friday.” Patel responds moments later, “We have too (sic). Cabinet Secretary has committed, we do not have any choice.”   

Click here to see the full DEP email thread.

This alarming discovery comes after the hearing in the Foundation’s appeal of Rockwool’s construction stormwater permit has been completed, after post-hearing briefs were filed, and while the case is awaiting a decision by the state Environmental Quality Board (EQB). At least four DEP employees, three of whom were deposed and testified under oath, failed to identify these facts. The emails were not produced as part of the Certified Record of the Construction Stormwater Appeal 20-02-EQB. Needless to say, had this email been produced when it should have been during the case proceedings, the Foundation would have had the chance to dig further into the apparent political pressure on DEP staff to issue Rockwool’s permit.  

In light of the emails that have just been discovered, on June 10, 2021 attorneys for the Foundation filed a motion before the EQB asking for reopening of the record and proceedings in the Construction Stormwater Permit Appeal, stating that “[i]f the DEP is allowed to selectively and without consequences withhold documents from the Certified Record, the process is without credibility. Presumably that is why the Legislature set as the first requirement after an appeal is filed in an environmental case, the production [of] a full and complete record.” The motion continues, “The disclosure of political influence on the permit review process, apparently exercised by the former Secretary, are matters of significant concern and information about same should properly have been put before the EQB and should have been available during the hearing process.”

Click here to read the full Motion to the EQB.

On June 11, the EQB responded to the Motion and scheduled a hearing for June 24 requiring the parties to fully brief the issue before the hearing. Relatedly, the Foundation continues to work on its appeal of Rockwool’s Operational Stormwater Permit, 20-13-EQB (the email string that just came to light was recently produced by DEP during discovery for this appeal).

  • July 28, 2020

Jefferson County Foundation has received and submitted to the West Virginia Environmental Quality Board, a significant hydrogeology report, confirming that the waters of Jefferson County — and the Chesapeake Bay Region — are at risk from the construction of the Route 9 Sewer Project. In the report, which has been submitted to the Board in the Sewer Line litigation, the expert concludes:

“…the most concerning potential risk from both construction and operation of sewer line is for groundwater contamination. In the case of a pipeline failure (more common in karst areas than others because of the potential for loss of structural support) groundwater contamination could be catastrophic in ecological terms (the federally threatened Madison Cave isopod lives within the karst aquifer of Jefferson county) and creating human disruptions by polluting groundwater, springs, and the surface waters to which these springs flow.”

This report was prepared as part of Jefferson County Foundation’s appeal of the DEP Unilateral Order 9080 that allows Charles Town to operate the Route 9 Sewer Project without a valid NPDES stormwater permit in violation of the Clean Water Act. This assessment is important far beyond the litigation that the Foundation is participating in. We urge you to read it and share it with others that wonder what this fight is all about. You can view the report here.

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The evaluation, reports, and testimony of this caliber expert can cost thousands of dollars. The Foundation is committed to pursuing what we need to achieve our goals but we need your financial help! If you are able, please make a fully tax deductible donate to Jefferson County Foundation and THE FOUNDATION LEGAL FUND. Help spread the word!

  • 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