By: Lydia Crawley
The Parsons Advocate
The Tucker County Commission refuses to take sides on the issue of the Ridgeline Power Plant issue. That was the message that Tucker County Commission President had for resident Michael Goss when confronted at the Commission’s July 23rd meeting.
‟Its not picking my sides, its representing the entire County,” Tucker County Commission President Mike Rosenau said.
Goss said that the matter was four months in and that in his mind the research has been done. He said that he felt that Davis and most everyone in the county was against the project. Goss said that it was time the Commissioners ‟let your constituents and the people that put you in office know how you feel about it.”
‟I think its time for everyone to pick a side,” Goss said.
Rosenau’s answer was that his side was Tucker County.
‟When the State took our local control out of it, my representation is, Tucker County,” Rosenau said.
However, at a previous Commission meeting, there was support for the project voiced by several residents present. The residents voiced the need for jobs and higher wages as the main factor in their support of the project.
Commissioner Fred Davis said that the only side that he has seen is Tucker United. He said he has seen nothing from Fundamental Data on the project. Davis said he even visited data centers to get a better idea of what may be coming to the area and was not too disturbed by what he saw. Overall, however, Davis said that his feeling is the project will never happen.
‟I still don’t believe its coming,” Davis said. ‟I really deep down, don’t believe its coming.”
Rosenau said that the real fight is with the State and Federal entities, not with each other. Rosenau said that it was the State that took local control, it is the State that regulates the Air Quality and sent the DEP to Canaan Valley for a meeting. Commissioner Tim Knotts said that the matter was coming down from the federal level.
‟Do I have concerns about a data center coming to Tucker County, yes, I do,” Rosenau said. ‟Yes, I do. But me as a Commissioner, I represent everybody.”
Rosenau said that if the project passes State and Federal guidelines, the Commission has no real power to stop it. Goss said that the project was not subject to HB 2014. However, Rosenau said that he called Charleston and was informed that no matter what was built on the site, it would be subject to the legislation.
‟I guarantee you that if the Governor and the powers that be want a data center it doesn’t matter what local control we think that we may have, I don’t think we do,” Rosenau said.
