Speakers at Antero Hearing

Letter from April Keating, Mountain Lakes Preservation Alliance, August 28, 2016

Antero Resources has been holding meetings for its proposed landfill and water processing facility, ironically named “Clearwater.” The 400-acre facility, a 25-year project located upstream of the Hughes River, will affect 11 wetlands and over 5 miles of streams in the area.

The WV Rivers Coalition, in its letter to the WV-DEP, states that there is no mention of a Groundwater Protection Plan in its stormwater permit, a document that must be made available to the public at all times, according to WV law. “The landfill will discharge into streams that are located within the Zone of Peripheral Concern (ZPC) for the Hughes River Water Board, which sells bulk water to Pennsboro, Harrisville, and Cairo in Ritchie County,” states the letter. The ZPC is the riparian land between a 5- and 10-hour travel time upstream of a public water supply.

The Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan (SWPPP) also does not include a section about spill prevention and response procedures, as required by the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit for Stormwater Associated with Construction Activities.

The stormwater permit is not the only permit being sought for the facility. A 401 permit is required to show that the company will comply with Clean Water Act regulations.

Nine speakers spoke for almost an hour about their concerns for the project at Tuesday’s stormwater permit hearing, which took place at Doddridge County High School and was sponsored by the WV-DEP.

>> Charlotte Pritt, Mountain Party Candidate for governor, spoke about the health hazards of radiation found in frack waste, and called for a ban on fracking.

>> Lew Baker of the West Virginia Rural Water Association noted that there should be continuous monitoring at the facility, not just at the water intake.

>> Bill Hughes of the Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition noted that this project is experimental and should never be done on this scale.

>> Cindy Rank of the WV Highlands Conservancy mentioned the inadequacies of the permit applications, and the fact that the effects of such a project should be looked at in aggregate and not separately.

>> April Keating, of Mountain Lakes Preservation Alliance, pointed out that 4,000 new wells were planned over the next 40 years, and the water supply would be adversely affected. She also noted that leaking pipelines and gas infrastructure, such as compressor stations, would affect air quality and accelerate climate change rapidly, leading to numerous effects on the environment and economy.

The WVDEP is taking comments on the stormwater permit until September 3. Comments can be submitted electronically at DEP.comments@wv.gov, or by writing to:

West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection, Permitting Section, Division of Water and Waste Management, 601 57th Street, Charleston WV 25304

 Contact: April Keating, 115 Shawnee Drive, Buckhannon, WV 26201

Internet: www.mountainlakespreservation.org 

Email: apkeating@hotmail.com   See also: www.FrackCheckWV.net