By: Lydia Crawley
The Parsons Advocate
Tucker County Commissioners, State officials and representatives from Tucker United met with representatives from Fundamental Data for discussions about the company’s proposed power plant project, as well as a site visit of the location near the Tucker County Landfill where the power plant is slated to be constructed. Tucker County Commission President Mike Rosenau informed the public of the meeting during his Commissioner Report May 27th.
The meeting with Fundamental Data was arranged by the State of West Virginia, according to Rosenau. The Tucker County Commission, Mayor Jody Flanagan of Thomas, Mayor Al Tomson of Davis and representatives from Tucker United were invited to the meeting, Roseanu stated.
“I think they addressed a lot of the concerns people may have,” Rosenau said. “There’s still concerns. I’m not saying they answered them all at all. I’m saying they answered a lot of concerns.”
Some of the concerns that were addressed at the meeting, according to Rosenau included the height of the smoke stacks, lighting, pollutants, diesel storage and water.
The stacks were said to be 100 feet tall, according to Rosenau. He said they were told that the stacks would not be able to be seen from any highway or the school. The lighting Rosenau was informed would be approved dome lights that would not affect the night sky.
The storage of diesel fuel on site was another concern addressed at the meeting, according to Rosenau. Fundamental Data representatives said that besides having an empty tank for emergency storage, Tucker County Commissioner Tim Knotts said the tanks were to be constructed of military grade armor-like material capable of withstanding impact. Rosenau also said that Fundamental Data is also looking into alternative back up fuel sources for the project.
As for concerns about water, Rosenau said that the representatives from Fundamental Data reiterated what was said in Davis a few weeks ago. The plan is to pump water from the Metikki coal mines that is currently pumped into a pond on the Continental Divide that feeds into the Chesapeake Bay watershed on the Grant County side, Rosenau said. The Ridgeline Project will tap into the discharge from Metikki, which currently runs 900,00 to 1 million gallons of water in 24 hours, according to Rosenau.
“Some of the most monitored water in the whole United States goes into the Chesapeake Bay,” Rosenau said.
The meeting included a site visit of the proposed location. Rosenau described the site as being in a bowl with high walls, foliage and trees all around the perimeter. In the center of the bowl is where the power plant is slated to be constructed, to obstruct the view.
“So it would be out of sight of everything from the way it looked from where it is located,” Rosenau said.
Rosenau said that he was told the revenue for the County when the data center is built is estimated to be a little over $26 million per year. The project is expected to include 80 permanent jobs at the power plant. Phase One of the project, which is the Tucker County project, includes a large solar field. In total, all jobs, including the solar field, is estimated at up to 110 permanent jobs.
