Dear Editor
My grandparents, John and Elsie DePollo, as well as my great-grandparents, Joe and Agnes, rest peacefully in the Mount Calvary Cemetery in Thomas. It’s located across the street from the Thomas/Davis Elementary School.
I feel certain that all my grandparents would be delighted with the resurgence their little town has experienced in the last 20 years. The general store where they toiled for most of the 20th Century is now a popular music venue, The Purple Fiddle, which hosts packed houses every week. The stores along Front and Second streets are filled. There are fairs and festivals to entertain, a vibrant arts community, a huge 4th of July celebration annually, and the main drag is jammed with cars every weekend.
In addition, the commercial district of the town (48 buildings and 2 additional locations) is listed on the National Register of Historic Places because of the role it played in the industrial and immigration history of our country – a true testament to the handwork of all the citizens who followed them.
But I shudder to think what will happen to this area once the proposed 1,600-MW Ridgeline power plant and adjacent data center – less than a mile as the crow flies from the school, the cemetery and the town – are constructed.
Will life be the same for the residents of this mountain top community and Davis, located just to the north? Probably not.
But, at this point, it’s hard to tell. The developer, Fundamental Data, LLC, of Virginia, has not been forthcoming with information about the project, siting the need to preserve confidential business information in its heavily redacted air permit application. Their “trade secrets” extend to the type of turbine generation equipment, the intended cooling process, delivery methods for the backup diesel fuel, emission stack height and other important details. And so far, the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection is ok with all that as they intend to issue an air quality permit for construction.
It could be because the WV Legislature passed House Bill 2014 this year which greased the skids for this type of development that will be used to power data centers. Developers don’t need to worry about the approval of local governments under the new law because municipal leaders have been cut out of the process. Local governments also get a tiny share of the tax revenue. Most of it goes to the state.
There are only a handful of jobs with these types of facilities and most will be security or custodial. So what does the local area have to gain?Just a lot headaches. Extra air, noise and light pollution. Heavier traffic on the roadways. Maybe permanent damage to the delicate microclimates that help make the area so unique. A huge fire risk with 30 million gallons of diesel fuel stored on the property. A drain on the local water supply or the storage of dangerous chemicals on site.
This mountain top area is home to some of West Virginia’s most cherished scenic treasures, Blackwater Falls and Canaan Valley. Beloved by WV residents and out-of-state visitors alike (more than a million come every year), they make the area special and are what draws people in. Is it worth jeopardizing these prized resources for a ride on the data center bandwagon?
I think the answer is no, and I think my grandparents would agree. I’d like to see the residents of Thomas and Davis have a peaceful future without the worry of a huge industrial site in their very backyards. It’s too close to their homes and schools and would damage what they’ve worked so hard to build. The powers that be should put Ridgeline somewhere else.
Janice DePollo Lantz
Greensburg, PA
jadlantz @aol
