Warwood Fracking Awareness Rally Draws 100 Attendees

Ohio Valley Relay Underway

Keep Frackwater Plant Out of Warwood

To the Editor: Wheeling News-Register, September 15, 2013

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Letter from: Dr. Jim Kowalski, Warwood, WV

It appears that the people in Warwood do not want a frackwater processing plant in Warwood. From what I have read, the volume of trucks in and out of the plant would be 30 trucks per day or a staggering 900 trucks a month. That is a lot of fracking trucks. Some will pass school zones and school children waiting for the school bus.

I am sure any city or county government official including Frackwater Johnny Jack, VP at Green Hunter, would not want 900 trucks a month driving through their neighborhoods. Noise pollution, air pollution, traffic congestion, health issues, and declining property values are just a few of the negative issues related to the toxic waste treatment plant.

If you drive north on Route 2 to Beech Bottom, there is a Sheehan Pipeline Yard (at the Corrugating Plant) plus a staging area for frackwater trucks where the trucks are filled with river water, north of the Sheehan yard. The mud dragged out from trucks and equipment on to the road, Route 2, is horrible. The mud makes the road slippery when wet and dusty when the road is dry. The mud or dust gets all over the cars.

A street sweeper that moves at 5 miles per hour is used to clean the road, which really slows down traffic. You can get stuck behind it for long time and it is very difficult to pass it. They seem to like to clean the road during rush hour. Recently, they hired two people that stop traffic on Route 2 to let the frackwater trucks in and out of the water filling station.

Frackwater Johnny Jack states that his 12 employees at the plant will wear radiation detectors at the frackwater treatment plant. That is scary enough! Will the surrounding neighbors just glow in the dark from the radiation?

Put a Taco Bell or a Dairy Queen into the proposed location instead of a toxic waste facility. This would serve the community much better with probably more than 12 employees.

Lincoln hoped in the Gettysburg address that “government of the people, by the people and for the people shall not perish from the earth.” I encourage City Council to listen to the citizens and vote “no” to the proposal related to the toxic waste plant maintaining Lincoln’s hopes and ours.

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Warwod Fracking Awareness Rally Draws 100 Attendees

Based on Report of WTOV, CHANNEL 9, September 15, 2013

WARWOOD, WV – Following months of debate with heavy criticism from the public, about a month ago GreenHunter got the green light to build its wastewater recycling plant on North 28th Street in Wheeling. This project has been closely scrutinized by many, including a group who calls themselves the “Wheeling Water Warriors.”

Today (Sunday) the Warriors had a Fracking Awareness Rally to protest fracking near the Ohio River. Rev. Monica Beasley-Martin, from Defenders of the Earth Outreach Mission, said it’s their goal to bring attention to the potential dangers of fracking.

She said relayers started rallying yesterday in Pittsburgh and will end their journey in Cairo, Illinois, within weeks. Some are walking, others are running, biking, skating, or kayaking the entire length of the Ohio River to draw attention to the need for safe, clean water.

“You know these are our children that are breathing and this is the impact it’s going to have on their lives. We all want to leave our children better off than we are,” said Beasley-Martin.

The group kicked the day off with a prayer service where the GreenHunter site is located. About 60 protestors then walked a mile down to Garden Park carrying signs and yelling, “What does democracy look like? This is what democracy looks like!”

Joining about 40 additional attendees at Garden Park, there were also many speakers, including a professor of civil and environmental engineering from RPI in Troy, NY. ”So my concern and interest is to help these folks and to bring more information to the public so they can make informed decisions about should this go forward or not,” said Dr. Yuri Gorby.

Gorby said he’s here from New York on an environmental-based trip, and also to lend his voice to the concerns about this facility. ”There are some absolutely immediate, serious health concerns that we’re attemping to address,” said Gorby.

GreenHunter plans to invest $1.7 million in to the North Warwood facility. Vice President of Business and Development John Jack spoke to NEWS9 a few months ago on this matter. “We have supporting documentation that proves our product is safe. The other sides makes accusations, so allow them to decide,” said Jack.

But no matter what, the Wheeling Water Warriors will not give up their mission. “Well, as I preached in my message, what’s important is we are doing the right thing. We are on the side of right and I believe that with God even a few is many,” said Beasley-Martin.