Power Plant Opponents Get Chilly Reception From Thomas City Council
Plus, Davis seeks alert when youths walk out of juvenile detention center, and The Nature Conservancy celebrates a key land acquisition in Canaan Valley
By Mat Cloak, contributing writer
Members of a group fighting a proposed power plant and data center complex got a chilly reception Tuesday night when they tried to convince the Thomas City Council to go on record opposing the facility.
“We won’t fight this one way or the other at this point,” council member Terry Nelson said.
Mayor Jody Flanagan, who has previously said he needs more information about the facility before deciding where he stands on it, stuck to that stance at Tuesday’s meeting of the city council. “It’s hard to fight something when you don’t know what you’re fighting,” Flanagan told members of Tucker United, a local group formed to fight the power plant.
Flanagan said he will consult with the city’s attorney about the implications of the council endorsing a resolution taking a stand on the facility. “We need to get the facts, compare the pros and cons. I think that’s the fair thing to do with this thing,” Flanagan said.
“It’s hard to fight something when you don’t know what you’re fighting.”
Tucker United got a far different reception from the Davis Town Council two weeks earlier, when that body unanimously approved a resolution stating its opposition to the proposed power plant and data center facility.
Tucker United vowed to continue pressuring the Thomas City Council to take a stand on the issue.
“Mayor Jody Flanagan said he was unwilling to make a stance on Fundamental Data’s power plant and data center proposal right now, and that he wanted additional information to weigh the costs and benefits. We plan to return to future meetings to keep him and the council updated,” Tucker United spokesperson Nikki Forester said in a statement.
Overflow crowd
About 65 people attended the meeting Tuesday in Thomas to show their opposition to the proposed power plant. Attendees overflowed the small room where the council meets and dozens had to wait outside, where audio of the meeting was played.
Multiple guests addressed the council, including some Thomas business owners, who gave impassioned speeches about quality-of-life concerns, environmental impacts, and other concerns.
Flanagan and Nelson suggested that Tucker United schedule a public hearing with the Tucker County Commission and other local governments. “The county commission is who they need to talk to,” Nelson said.
Legislative fight
Despite his reluctance to take a stand on the proposed power plant and data center complex, Flanagan said he is deeply concerned about a “microgrid” law enacted by the state legislature earlier this year which makes it much easier for such facilities to be built in West Virginia. The bill stripped local governments of any ability to block or regulate data centers, and it redirects most of the new local property tax revenue generated by such facilities to state coffers.
Flanagan said changing that law is the more pressing issue since it was enacted during this year’s legislative session, while “the data center is two to three years out.” Flanagan expressed frustration with state lawmakers, and said he believes the microgrid law will be amended.
Tucker United Files Appeal
Meanwhile, Tucker United filed an appeal Wednesday seeking to overturn a recent ruling by state regulators that favored Fundamental Data, the backer of the local microgrid project.
Last month, the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) dismissed claims by opponents of the data center development that Fundamental Data improperly redacted information about its proposed power plant in a regulatory filing. The DEP ruled that Fundamental Data had satisfied the requirements necessary to keep certain information confidential in its application for an air quality permit necessary to operate the proposed facility.
In its filing Wednesday, submitted by local attorney Brent Easton, Tucker United argues that the DEP’s ruling “lacks any meaningful analysis or scrutiny” and accepts Fundamental Data’s assertions as facts, among other objections.
Click the button below to see the full text of Tucker United’s appeal.
The appeal will be heard by the West Virginia Air Quality Board, and the issue eventually could end up in the state court system, Easton said.
(Editor’s note: Dan Parks contributed to this story).
More News
Davis Seeks Warning When Youths Escape From Rubenstein Center
Davis residents should be alerted whenever a youth at the nearby Rubenstein Juvenile Center walks away from the facility, town council member Carrie Hawkins said at a meeting Wednesday.
Mayor Al Tomson agreed and said he will ask the head of the facility to tell town officials when a resident escapes. Such notifications will allow the town to use its automated phone alert system to inform residents to be wary of a young male evading law enforcement.
The minimum-security Rubenstein center houses up to 84 males, ages 15 to 20, who are at low risk of violence. Occasionally a cadet, as residents of the facility are called, walks away from the facility and typically heads for Thomas or Davis. Hawkins and others who attended the meeting said some escapees over the years have stolen cars and broken into buildings.
Hawkins, who worked at the center as a counselor for 10 years, said that so far the escapees haven’t committed violent crimes. However, she noted that because all cadets know that an escape attempt will add years to their confinement, those that flee the Rubenstein Center may be more desperate than other residents at the facility.
Nature Conservancy Celebrates Dobbin Slashings Acquisition
The Nature Conservancy on Thursday celebrated its acquisition of the 1,393-acre Dobbin Slashings, an area situated between the Dolly Sods Wilderness Area and the Canaan Valley National Wildlife Refuge.
The area is one of the largest wetland complexes in the region and is home to the headwaters of Red Creek. The Nature Conservancy purchased the area from Western Pocahontas Properties.
The area will be open to hiking, biking, and other uses according to Nature Conservancy officials who gathered at Canaan Valley Resort State Park for the celebration. Click the “Download” button below for a full resolution map.
