Bens Run in Ohio River valley between Sistersville and St. Marys is in Tyler County very near Pleasants County

From an Article by Cristy, Only In Your State ~ West Virginia, July 7, 2022

West Virginia is known for its large number of ancient burial mounds. These mounds, thought to be thousands of years old, were erected by a native race long predating the American Indians living here when the first white settlers arrived. The largest of these burial mounds measures over 200 feet in diameter and over 60 feet high.

But the secrets within the mounds are even more remarkable. The remains found as these mounds were excavated over the years reveal humans – possibly chiefs or shamans of great honor – buried in complex and unique methods and arrangements. When Grave Creek Mound, the world’s largest conical mound, was excavated in the early 1800s, it was reported that skeletons up to 8 feet tall were discovered inside.

Years later, the Smithsonian Institution performed the excavation of the Criel Mound in South Charleston, another massive mound judged to date to the same time period as Grave Creek Mound. Of the 13 skeletons unearthed, 10 were arranged in a spoke-like pattern around one central skeleton that was 6 feet 8 inches tall.

And in the 1950s, Cresap Mound in Marshall County was excavated by Don Dragoo of the Smithsonian. Among the 54 human skeletons discovered inside, one was found to be over 7 feet in length.

Over the years, many other human skeletons or individual bones unearthed across the state (and in neighboring states) were reported to be abnormally large, although none of these have been preserved until today. There is, however, no shortage of controversy surrounding some of these claims.

Some modern scholars allege that many of the early discoveries were not measured correctly or that they were misidentified due to the researchers’ lack of scientific training. Others, in turn, have theorized that the Smithsonian orchestrated a coverup of evidence of giant skeletons for unknown reasons. This stems from two burial mounds in Doddridge County that were excavated in 1930 by professor Ernest Sutton of Salem University. He allegedly found human skeletons from seven to nine feet tall, and the artifacts reported to have been turned over to the Smithsonian. However, the skeletons were apparently stolen and have disappeared, which (together with later revision of measurements) has spawned the coverup theory.

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What Happened to the Fort Ancient People? | Darla Spencer, 2016

New book examines myths and misconceptions of elusive Native Americans. See also Wikipedia for the status of understanding of the Fort Ancient culture.

A Native American community known as the Fort Ancient once existed in what is now West Virginia. The Fort Ancient people lived along major rivers between roughly A.D. 1000 and 1700, but by the time the first Europeans settled in the Ohio Valley and Kanawha Valley, they were gone.

“Early Native Peoples in West Virginia: The Fort Ancient Culture” by West Virginia University Native American Studies Lecturer Darla Spencer, examines what archaeologists know about the Fort Ancient culture.

MSEEL Domain in Morgantown Industrial Park

ABSTRACT ~ Marcellus Shale Energy & Environment Laboratory (MSEEL) Final Report

The objective of the Marcellus Shale Energy and Environment Laboratory (MSEEL) was to provide a long-term field site to develop and validate new knowledge and technology to improve recovery efficiency and minimize environmental implications of unconventional resource development.

MSEEL initiated in October 2014 and completed in September 2021. Total project value was $29,765,067, support from the US Department of energy totaled $16,608,355 with a cost share of $13,156,712 primarily from Northeast Natural Energy.

This report in a departure from previous reports summarizes the overarching results and outlines the approach taken. We cover two recent efforts in machine learning and reservoir characterization and simulation.

Numerous quarterly reports, public presentations and numerous external publications cover specific results by subtopic and in detail. Publications are listed in the Appendix.

The MSEEL project directly supported at least 110 personnel consisting of 23 tenure track faculty member, 27 research associates (Post-doctoral candidates and other research staff such as research professors), 42 graduate students (Masters and Doctoral), and 18 undergraduates. In addition, data are used at several institutions to educate the next generation of subsurface geoscientists.

From 2015 through December 2021, at least 333 publications are directly attributable to the Marcellus Shale Energy and Environment Lab (MSEEL) or use data or results obtained from MSEEL. The scientific and technical results have significantly improved our understanding of the environmental impacts and subsurface understanding of unconventional shale gas reservoirs such as the Marcellus Shale, and have broad impacts beyond shale gas to include geothermal production and carbon storage.

This report summarizes the overarching results and outlines the approach taken. Numerous quarterly reports, public presentations, and external publications cover specific results by subtopic and in detail. While MSEEL is not currently active, the results and data remain available through the National Energy Technology Laboratory Energy Data eXchange (EDX) (https://edx.netl.doe.gov/), and at the MSEEL website (http://www.mseel.org/).

Available data totals approximately 108 terabytes. Results and data continue to be incorporated into ongoing projects including Science-informed Machine Learning to Accelerate Real-Time (SMART) (https://edx.netl.doe.gov/smart/). Research on machine learning for improved production efficiency with LANL through the SMART Initiative continues and we have provided data and consultation and have contributed papers on use of artificial intelligence for a better understanding of reservoir properties.

One vertical “science well” & four horizontal production wells — (click on the geographic image above to enlarge it)

From an Article by WVU News, November 6, 2014

As the Appalachian Region feels the impact of the burgeoning shale-energy industry, a consortium of researchers and industrial partners led by West Virginia University, with the assistance of The Ohio State University, will conduct the first-ever long-term, comprehensive field study of a natural resource that has changed the country’s – and the world’s – energy supply.

The five-year, $11 million agreement with the U.S. Department of Energy will allow the research team to create and manage the Marcellus Shale Energy and Environment Laboratory, a field site and dedicated research laboratory at the Morgantown Industrial Park.

Together with the DOE’s National Energy Technology Laboratory and Northeast Natural Energy – a Charleston-based private oil and natural gas company that owns and operates the site – the lab will engage a unique and diverse team of geoscientists, hydrologists, engineers, ecologists, social scientists and public health professionals. The team will identify and demonstrate technologies required for best practices in environmentally responsible shale development, from drilling to completion through production.

Additionally, the lab will offer real-world education and training for undergraduate and graduate students to address the complex technical, environmental and social issues surrounding unconventional energy development and production.

Ohio State will work with WVU to provide support of subsurface scientific investigations of the geology and microbiology from samples taken in the drill hole, along with guidance and support for the environmental work at the site.

“We have deep roots in West Virginia and it is our goal to help any way we can,” said Mike John, chief executive officer of Northeast Natural Energy. “Our participation in the this project is driven by our desire to help improve science, enhance technology and expand understanding of the natural gas industry.”

Shale gas is natural gas that is trapped inside formations of shale – sedimentary rock found deep underground. To release it, shale-gas producers drill a deep vertical well and then use a combination of technologies to target horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing (or fracking) – which uses pressurized water, sand and chemicals to crack subsurface rock and create fissures that release natural gas.

Additionally, recent news reports state that fracking and other unconventional techniques have already doubled North American natural gas reserves to three quadrillion cubic feet, which is nearly equal to 500 billion barrels of oil, or almost double the crude inventory of Saudi Arabia – the world’s top oil producer.

The Marcellus Shale Energy and Environment Laboratory will allow the team to address critical gaps of knowledge of the characterization, basic subsurface science, and completion and stimulation strategies that enable more efficient resource recovery from fewer wells with reduced environmental impact.

The primary objectives of the project include providing a long-term research site with an existing well and documented production and environment baseline from two previously completed wells.

A dedicated scientific-observation well will be used to collect detailed subsurface data and to monitor and test technologies in additional wells to be drilled periodically over the project lifetime.

The site also offers a unique opportunity to enable an open, collaborative and integrated program of science and technology development and testing to minimize environmental impacts while maximizing economic benefits.

The following areas at WVU are participating in the study ~ • Civil and Environmental Engineering, • Geology and Geography, • Petroleum and Natural Gas Engineering, • Public Administration, • Public Health, • Regional Research Institute, • Geographic Information Systems Tech Center, • West Virginia Water Research Institute.

The project is operated under the purview of a 2013 memorandum of understanding between WVU and Ohio State. As part of the shale-energy partnership, the two institutions agreed to work collaboratively to develop a joint program of research in the Appalachian Region’s developing shale energy industry.

-WVU- (11/6/2014)

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UPDATE ~ The MSEEL project ended September 30, 2021 and has 90 days to submit a final report. A draft final report was submitted to DOE on December 21. Revisions have been requested by DOE and a final report is expected by the end of the year. It will be made available through OSTI. For more information on MSEEL go to MSEEL.org or edx.netl.doe.gov.

SOURCE ~ Robert Vagnetti, MSEEL-federal project manager (12/27/21)

Co-authors

§ From the Press Release of Staff, University of Wyoming, December 16, 2020

Professor Tara Righetti, in the University of Wyoming College of Law and School of Energy Resources (SER), and Kris Koski, an SER associate lecturer, co-wrote an energy industry study with the United States Energy Association (USEA).

The collaborative study is titled “Study on States’ Policies and Regulations per CO2-EOR-Storage Conventional, ROZ, and EOR in Shale: Permitting, Infrastructure, Incentives, Royalty Owners, Eminent Domain, Mineral-Pore Space, and Storage Lease Issues.” The full report can be found here.

“We are exceedingly proud to have our faculty members at the forefront of a decisive topic in energy development and working proactively to support Wyoming and its economy,” says SER Executive Director Holly Krutka. “This publication is an important step to bridge the gap between our energy research efforts and commercial implementation.”

The report — in collaboration with West Virginia University colleagues — is a strong example of faculty research directly supporting Wyoming’s economy and the energy industry, Krutka says.

The study evaluates laws, policies and regulations governing CO2-EOR (carbon dioxide-enhanced oil recovery), associated CO2 storage operations, and geologic storage across 12 states and onshore federal lands. The study principally includes two regions: the eastern region, composed of the Illinois Basin and the Marcellus shale region; and the western region, composed of the Permian Basin and Rockies regions.

In anticipation of expanded interest in CO2-EOR as a result of the amended 45Q (carbon capture) tax credit and recently released draft treasury regulations, it is increasingly important for legislatures and policymakers to understand legal and regulatory challenges to more integrated and widespread implementation of CO2 storage, according to the study.

“With the recent expansion of the 45Q tax credit and passage of House Bill 200 requiring carbon capture use and storage retrofits to power plants, we expect increased interest in the legal and regulatory requirements for CO2-EOR and geologic storage,” Righetti says. “This report summarizes and illustrates the comparative completeness of Wyoming’s regulatory framework as well as identifying opportunities for additional legislative and agency action.”

The project provides comprehensive and comparative analysis of four dimensions of CO2 law, regulation and policy: land use, mineral, water and pore space rights; regulation of CO2-EOR and CO2 pipelines; eminent domain; and geologic CO2 storage and incremental storage regulation.

The study suggests opportunities to harmonize energy policies and address regulatory gaps and inconsistencies. The goal of the study is to facilitate better understanding of the legal underpinnings that frame risk, uncertainty and investment in CO2 use and storage infrastructure and projects; and to provide a roadmap for changes that are conducive to regional project development.

Koski says the report also will benefit private entities seeking to engage in energy development incentives.

“Taking a look at the interstate and federal legal and regulatory landscape is the first step in any potential CO2 enhanced oil recovery or long-term storage project,” Koski says. “This research not only helps identify regulatory gaps that legislatures can tackle to incentivize such development, but it also may be helpful and save substantial time and money for private enterprise in the planning for such projects.”

In addition to the important contributions to the state, the report provides much-needed support to UW students interested in working in the energy sector, according to Koski and Righetti.

“In a transitioning energy economy, with an increased focus on limiting CO2 emissions, potential CO2 injection projects could bring substantial revenue to Wyoming in the form of severance tax and mineral royalties while, at the same time, providing job opportunities for our university’s Professional Land Management Program students,” Koski says.

Research students at the UW College of Law and West Virginia University College of Law also were involved in the report. Third-year Wyoming law student Marissa Pridmore, of Limon, Colo., was one of eight law students providing support for the project.

“Working on the USEA project prepared me to work and interact with others in an online, COVID-informed environment,” Pridmore says. “During the project, I also developed an interest in how the energy industry navigates federal regulations, and I have continued to research and write on this area of the law.”

USEA hosted and recorded a webinar Dec. 3 for parties interested in summary results of the study. The authors discussed their work and presented possible pathways forward with the information.

Acid mine drainage is the primary water pollution source in WV

Update by Paul Ziemkiewicz, WV Water Research Institute, Morgantown, WV

Thanks for the invitation to update you on the recovery of rare earth elements from acid mine drainage. Our team at WVU and Virginia Tech identified acid mine drainage (AMD) from coal mines back in 2015 as a good feedstock for rare earth element (REE) recovery.

AMD is what happens when the pyrite in coal and overburden reacts with air to make sulfuric acid. That ‘free acid’ leaches REEs out of the rock and concentrates it at the discharge of a coal mine.

You do not need to open a new mine to collect REEs from AMD. Many abandoned mines generate AMD decades after closure. Second to untreated sewage, AMD is the biggest pollutant in Appalachian streams.

At the Water Research Institute, we and our WVU colleagues have been working on AMD since the late 1980s. We know its chemistry, treatment and have spent most of our time making it go away. Witness the water quality improvements in the Monongahela, Cheat and Tygart Rivers, plus lots of creeks.

We’ve developed a way to treat AMD while recovering REEs and, with USDOE/NETL funding, we are building a 1,000 gpm pilot plant with WV-DEP to demonstrate the process.

As an REE feedstock, AMD has the following advantages:
1. AMD has to be treated anyway and that costs money
2. Recovering REE would offset AMD treatment costs and that allows watershed cleanup dollars to go farther
3. It could be a source of revenue for watershed groups and others treating AMD
4. AMD based REE production has no radioactivity problems
5. It would also yield the critical mineral Cobalt
6. Permitting is simple, not the 8+ years typical for a new REE mine
7. In fact, most sites already have all the required permits
8. Compared to REE mines, AMD based REE are richer in the more critically important, heavy REEs
9. Extraction, using our patent pending process is economically attractive

I could go on, but this summarizes where we are now. Future steps involve proving our process at the new pilot plant, developing a collection system and supply chain feeding a regional REE concentrator.

Thank you, Paul F. Ziemkiewicz, Director, WV Water Research Institute

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See also: WVU awarded $5 million to continue rare earth project, build acid mine drainage treatment facility | WVU Today | October 1, 2019

Acid mine drainage is a major pollutant for West Virginia’s waters. The West Virginia Water Research Institute at WVU is looking at ways to extract rare earth elements from the sludge with the recent aid of $5 million from the U.S. Department of Energy. (WVU Photo/ Raymond Thompson, Jr.)

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WVU partners with Extreme Endeavors to mine rare earth elements from acid mine drainage

AMD research facility to be located near Mt. Storm in Grant County, WV

MONONGALIA COUNTY, WV – From decades of mining in West Virginia, over 40 percent of the states rivers are too polluted to be safely used for drinking water or to support aquatic life, according to Appalachian Mountain Advocates. Mike Masterman, owner of Extreme Endeavors, is partnering with WVU’s Water Research Institute to provide a solution that would benefit the environment and the economy.

“Throughout West Virginia there’s a lot of sights where abandoned coal mines, or even one’s that aren’t abandoned, where the coal leeches out an acid water,” he said.

“We designed a trailer for them (WVU researchers) so that they could go to any site they wanted to, throw a pump or two in the water, and do processing that then collects a pre-concentrated slurry that we can then take up to a laboratory setting and test it for rare earth elements,” Masterman said.

The trailer was built and designed to remove rare earth elements (REE) from acid mine drainage, which can then be used for profit. These elements can be found in products like smartphones, computers or even heads-up displays for the military. They are a desired natural resources around the world. The United States uses around 15,000 tons of these elements per year and it’s mostly imported from China.

Through this research, it will allow more production of REE’s to be provided from within the states. “The research is going to lead to a way where you can make a profit by protecting the environment,” Masterman said.

In order to protect the environment, the process of removing the rare elements would help prepare safe water for it’s reentry into the state’s streams and rivers. This is something Masterman believes needs improvement. His company has made its name in the drinking water field, and he has worked with several West Virginia public service districts on modernizing and digitizing their water management systems.

“Anytime that we can take this bad acid mine drainage, treat the water and then discharge it properly, that’s only going to help our environment,” Masterman said.

“We’re taking what the coal mines have been doing and we’re going to change it around to correct their environmental problem and we’re going to create another mining product within the state,” he said.

Within the next year, the construction for a research facility is going to begin in Mt. Storm at a new acid mine drainage treatment plant.

Dr. Qingyun Sun, right, speaks during a meeting at the China University of Mining and Technology in 2016

From an Article by Steven Allen Adams, The Inter-Mountain, Elkins WV, July 24, 2020

CHARLESTON — A former professor at West Virginia University involved in the proposed $83.7 billion China Energy deal pleaded guilty in federal court for improper reimbursements for a trip to China.

According to information released Thursday by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of West Virginia, Dr. Qingyun Sun pleaded guilty to wire fraud and filing a false tax return.

Sun is a former associate professor at WVU and the associate director of the United States-China Energy Center at the university. He also worked with the West Virginia Department of Commerce and the State Development Office as an adviser and was the governor’s assistant on China affairs.

The wire fraud charge stems from a 2015 trip by Sun to China on behalf of the WVU and the Development Office to arrange for a visit by West Virginia trade officials. The visit involved leading a delegation at a coal expo and Beijing.

According to federal prosecutors, Sun paid for a coach ticket and a first-class ticket, submitting a reimbursement to WVU for the coach ticket and a reimbursement for the first-class ticket to Synfuels Americas Corp., where Sun also was employed. Synfuels, headquartered in China with offices in Virginia, specializes in coal-to-liquids and gas-to-liquids processing. Sun only used the first-class ticket.

According to the second charge, Sun exaggerated his business-related travel expenses on a joint income tax return with his wife in 2014. The business-related travel expenses were either paid for with a state purchasing card, reimbursed by WVU, or reimbursed by Peabody Energy, where Sun also was a consultant. Sun also failed to state his financial interests in accounts for Chinese businesses where he had partial authority.

Sun is no longer an employee of WVU, but was still part of the United States-China Energy Center as of at least 2019.

Sun completed his doctorate at WVU in 1996, remaining at the university to teach. Most recently, Sun served as assistant for China affairs for governors Earl Ray Tomblin and Jim Justice.

Sun was involved with working with Chinese officials that resulted in a memorandum of understanding signed by West Virginia and China. In November 2017, Justice announced the state had entered into an agreement with China Energy Investment Corp. The investment, valued at $83.7 billion, involved China Energy making numerous investments in Marcellus Shale natural gas production and downstream industries, such as chemical manufacturing interests.

The deal was part of a $250 billion trade deal negotiated between China and the U.S. Department of Commerce in 2017. Former West Virginia Commerce Secretary Woody Thrasher traveled to China twice to secure the $83.7 billion memorandum of understanding with China Energy. So far, nothing has ever come of the deal, though Chinese officials have visited the state since the agreement.

According to flight records, Sun and Steven Hedrick, the chairman, president and CEO of Mid-Atlantic Technology, Research and Innovation Center Inc., used a state plane to usher Chinese officials, including former China Shenhua Energy Co. President and Deputy Party Secretary Jiming Zhang, around the state.

The group visited several locations of petrochemical manufacturing businesses, manufacturers, natural gas production facilities, as well as a casino. Locations included: Dow Chemical in South Charleston; M and G Polymers in Mason County; Century Aluminum in Ravenswood; the Braskem production plant in Kenova; the Covestro plant in New Martinsville; the PTT Global America project in Belmont County, Ohio; Mountaineer Casino, Racetrack, and Resort in New Cumberland; The MarkWest Sherwood Complex in Doddridge County; and the Shell Pennsylvania Petrochemical Complex.

As part of the plea agreement, Sun will pay $6,233 in restitution to WVU. He also faces up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for the wire fraud charge and up to three years in prison and another $250,000 fine for the tax fraud charge.

A federal judge will sentence Sun at a later date. A federal information plea implies that Sun is cooperating with federal investigators.

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See also: $84 Billion China Deal for West Virginia is a Continuing Mystery, Article by Steven Adams, Parkersburg News & Sentinel, July 14, 2019

Senator Manchin, environmental activists seek details on China Energy deal

National Research Center for Coal and Energy

From an Article by Steven A. Adams, Wheeling Intelligencer, April 3, 2019

MORGANTOWN — Two research organizations at West Virginia University plan to merge and focus on renewable energy projects.

James Wood, the interim director of the WVU Energy Institute, said Monday during WVU Academic Media Day in Morgantown that his organization is merging with the National Research Center for Coal and Energy.

“Recently, we spent some time looking over the structure of the institute, particularly in regard to integrating the team at the National Research Center for Coal and Energy into the Energy Institute,” Wood said. “That’s in recognition of the transitions that we see that are taking place in the energy business today, the role gas is beginning to play superseding that part of the economy here.”

Wood said he expected the integration of the two organizations to be completed sometime in May and be operational by July. Once the two are merged, Wood said the institute will shift its focus to clean energy technology.

Wood went on the detail some of the work the institute has been involved with clean coal technology and the struggles to get new innovations off the ground.

According to Wood, new technologies are rated on a scale called “Technology Readiness Level,” or TRL. On a scale of one to nine, one means basic research design and nine means technology released for full-commercial applications.

“There is an interesting term used in both the private and public sectors to describe the movement of technology along the path from TRL 1 to TRL 9. That term is called the Valley of Death,” Wood said. “It reflects the idea that the transition from TRL 1 to TRL 9 is anything but an easy transition.”

Between 2009 and 2014, the U.S. Congress funded eight climate change projects that made it to TRL 5, meaning a large-scale prototype of pilot project tested in the field. Six of those pilot projects were related to coal and carbon storage, but only two were successful. One of the unsuccessful projects was the chilled ammonia carbon capture project at AEP Mountaineer Power Plant in New Haven.

The projects were funded at an 80/20 split, with the private sector chipping in 20 percent. Wood said these projects fail for multiple reasons.

“Sometimes the gap is created by financial pressures,” Wood said. “Sometimes a great innovation is found to be non-scalable. Sometimes it’s a matter of market acceptance or lack of ability to manufacture the technology at a reasonable cost.”

Japan and Germany funded the two successful carbon capture projects, but the private sector investors are unable to help fund these projects completely.

One area of research the institute is working on is injecting carbon dioxide into old oil formations to make them viable again. Wood said estimates show there is still 50 percent of the original oil remaining in formations that have lost pressure.

“Re-pressuring formations is done in ways that result in most of the carbon dioxide remaining captured by the formation,” Wood said. “Most people who have done the calculations will agree that the thought that producing oil with this (method) produces fewer carbon emissions than producing oil by drilling a brand new well.”

The institute also continues to work on fracking research, including techniques that can reduce natural gas leakage from a well pad to near zero.

Research on Marcellus shale drilling now underway in Monongalia County

From an Article by Luke Torrance, Pittsburgh Business Times, December 24, 2018

Testing is set to begin this week in West Virginia as part of an effort to advance hydraulic fracturing techniques that would allow the extraction of natural gas to be done more efficiently.

The drilling tests are being carried out by the Marcellus Shale Engineering and Environmental Laboratory (MSEEL), a research partnership between West Virginia University, Northeast Natural Energy, and the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL).

The tests will seek to improve gas recovery from horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing, a method in which rock is fractured by pressurized liquid, releasing the natural gas. They will be carried out near Core, W.Va., which is located about 15 miles northwest of Morgantown.

Previous research by WVU and Northeast Natural Energy led to the creation of stimulation zones that offered the best well sites around natural fractures in the shale. These sites were monitored using seismic and fiber optic distributed temperature and acoustic sensing, a method that is too costly to be used on all wells.

“Therefore, aided by advanced numerical modeling developed by WVU, the project team will compare the use and results of new completion/stimulation techniques at the Core site to the large array of relatively cost-prohibitive techniques used in the Morgantown Industrial Park wells,” according to NETL.

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Man dies from injuries sustained in explosion at MarkWest facility in Washington County, PA

From an Article by Luke Torrance, Pittsburgh Business Times, December 20, 2018

A man who was critically injured in an explosion at the MarkWest facility in Washington County, PA, last week has died, according to the Allegheny County Medical Examiner.

Jeffrey Fisher, 61, of Salem, W.Va., was one of four workers injured last week after an incident near two temporary tanks that were on-site for routine maintenance led to an explosion on December 13th. The men were working at the MarkWest facility in Houston, Pa., which is owned by Marathon Petroleum.

Former WV Commerce Secretary drinks toast with Chinese delegation

From an Article by Brad McElhinny, WV MetroNews, November 18, 2018

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — More than a year after it was announced, details of West Virginia’s investment agreement with China Energy remain a mystery, but the court system could bring the arrangement to light.

Appalachian Mountain Advocates, a nonprofit law firm, sued this past summer for documents from the West Virginia University Energy Institute, which was heavily involved with the deal.

Appalachian Mountain Advocates sought any agreements West Virginia officials entered into with the China Energy Investment Corporation in 2017, any list of energy projects that West Virginia provided to China Energy and correspondence that Energy Institute staff sent or received that year that included the words “China” and either “energy,” “coal” or “gas.”

West Virginia University filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit. Appalmad, as it’s shortened, is fighting. Both arguments are to be heard at 1:30 p.m. Monday in the courtroom of Monongalia Circuit Judge Russell Clawges Jr.

West Virginia officials made a splash on November 9, 2017, with the overnight announcement that then-Commerce Secretary Woody Thrasher had been in Beijing to sign an enormous agreement. The memorandum of understanding was said to be worth up to $83.7 billion.

When Thrasher returned, he and Gov. Jim Justice touted the deal but would not provide details or publicly share the memorandum. Over the coming months, Thrasher would be forced out and the investment would be called into doubt.

But the fight to see details of the deal remains on. WVU wants the judge to dismiss the motion to make the documents public.

The university argues that the documents are protected by economic development privilege. WVU contends the documents are actually the confidential possessions of the West Virginia Development Office.

WVU was sued because Quingyun Sun of its energy institute is also the governor’s assistant for China affairs at the Development Office.

The university also argues that Appalmad’s request is burdensome and isn’t specific enough. “Because Plaintiff has refused to narrow its FOIA request, the University would be forced to review, segregate and, as necessary, redact more than 15,000 potentially responsive emails,” wrote lawyers for WVU.

Appalmad claims WVU’s arguments are thin. It says the university provided no Vaughn index, which is a description of documents being withheld along with justification of non-disclosure — “no affidavit, no testimony, no evidence whatsoever.

“This is simply not the way it is done: a public agency cannot parry the Act’s general disclosure requirement merely by pointing to the Code book. “Rather it must put forth affirmative, clear and convincing evidence to sustain an exemption.”

Applamad argues that the university provides little support for its claim of an undue burden. “The court has no way of knowing whether the University is double-counting emails sent to multiple Energy Institute staffers,” lawyers wrote.

Appalmad also contends that exemptions meant for economic development don’t apply to the university. In part, that’s because the university doesn’t contend its primary responsibility is economic development.

“Because the pleadings alone demonstrate that the University is altogether ineligible for protection under the economic development privilege, judicial economy is best served by closing on that defense now.”

Led to an extreme, Appalmad contends, any entity that wanted to keep a document secret just make sure the state Development Office is looped in. “Under the University’s theory, the Development Office would become a clearinghouse for records that the government preferred hidden from the public,” wrote lawyers for Appalmad.

“Merely by copying the Development Office — or any of its employees — a state agency could transform a public record subject to the Act into a record ‘received by the Development Office’ and therefore immune to disclosure.”

Chinese looking for opportunities at WVU

From an Article by Kate Mishkin, Charleston Gazette, June 23, 2018

A nonprofit law firm has filed a lawsuit against West Virginia University after the school failed to hand over public records about a deal between West Virginia and a Chinese energy company.

The $83.7 billion investment deal, forged in November 2017 between the state and China Energy, was the largest of several agreements China made with the United States. At the time, Gov. Jim Justice called the memorandum of understanding “the largest investment in our state’s history.”

WVU President Gordon Gee touted the deal as a “culmination of years of relationship building, both by West Virginia University and the state.”

Details about the deal remain murky, though. Appalachian Mountain Advocates asked for more information about the deal in November, asking for a number of documents from the WVU Energy Institute or its staff, including a copy of the agreement and emails that discussed the deal.

The university declined that request in December, saying the documents weren’t public, and they included trade secrets and information about economic development. Plus, a Freedom of Information Act officer for the university wrote, there were more than 15,000 emails that fit the description, and that parsing through those emails would be too great a task.

The lawsuit, filed Thursday, names WVU as a defendant and seeks to unveil some of the details about the agreement.

WVU said in November it would work with state government to coordinate the investment, and the university had been researching coal liquefaction with Chinese government-owned coal mining company Shenhua Group and energy company Guodian Group. WVU, the state Department of Commerce and the Appalachian Development Group have been working to secure a loan from the U.S. Department of Energy for an Appalachian Storage and Trading Hub.

See also: Appalachian Mountain Advocates

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For all the $83B in China Energy — what do we really have?

Newspaper Editorial, Morgantown Dominion Post, June 25, 2018

“Promise of big foreign investment in gas industry starting to look nebulous”

No, eight months don’t make two decades. But the size of the headlines in November, heralding an $83 billion investment in West Virginia over 20 years by China Energy, have shrunk. That’s not to say they disappeared, but lately they look to be a lot less sensational.

Last week, executives from China Energy failed to show for a regional petrochemical conference, quelling hopes for news about their plans. Those plans included projects focused on power generation, chemical manufacturing and underground storage of natural gas liquids and derivatives. Since then there appears to be growing reason for concern whether this investment will ever live up to its promise.

Two of the first announced projects — proposed gas-fired power plants in Harrison and Brooke counties — were initially said to be among the first of China Energy’s investments. The company behind those plants later said it’s not expecting any China Energy backing.

Then this year, in what started with tariffs on Chinese-made solar panels and washing machine, accelerated in March with tariffs on Chinese aluminum and steel, became an all-out trade war. In mid-June the Trump administration slapped tariffs on $50 billion of Chinese goods, which Beijing has matched in a tit-for-tat showdown.

The governor discounted the recent resignation of the state’s Commerce secretary, who signed the memorandum of understanding with China Energy representatives. But we cannot help but think he was probably better acquainted with these plans than anyone.

Then China Energy officials cancelled their visit at the Northeast U.S. Petrochemical Construction Conference, in Pittsburgh. And all this comes on the heels of still no details about this investment or the sites being looked at for investment. So, where does the China Energy memorandum of understanding stand today? That’s a good question and rest assured it’s probably better than the answer you’ll get.

The governor would have us believe that this deal is safe because of his relationship with the president. WVU Energy Institute’s director assessed these developments as a “speed bump,” not a “road block.”

We hope this optimism is not misplaced, because our state looks to be on the rebound as this fiscal year ends. A small budget surplus looks to even be in the picture. It’s about time, too. But if this impasse continues for long our economic recovery may be on a slow boat to China.

See also: $83 Billion West Virginia Petrochemical Deal with China on Skids Due to Trade War, Corruption Probe | DeSmogBlog