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Your Comments are Needed on Antero Landfill Project
Announcement from WV Rivers Coalition, August 22, 2016
Public Hearing Tomorrow, August 23, 2016, in West Union, WV
The WVDEP is currently accepting comments on two permit applications for Antero’s landfill project, 401 water quality certification and NPDES stormwater construction permit. The permit application for these large projects should be very detailed, but both lack all the information that WVDEP needs to certify the projects will not significantly impact our water.
The proposed Antero landfill and wastewater treatment facility encompasses approximately 486 acres located in Doddridge and Ritchie Counties, view our fact sheet on the project here. The facility would treat fracking wastewater for re-use and dispose of the salt byproducts in the attached landfill. It is still unclear how they plan to dispose of the sludge byproduct. The project would impact 89 streams and 11 wetlands and is located within Hughes River Water Board’s drinking water protection area. To submit comments to WVDEP on Antero’s 401 application click here and to submit comments on Antero’s stormwater permit click here.
View WV Rivers’ comments on the 401 application and stormwater permit.
The WVDEP is holding a public hearing on the Antero stormwater permit tomorrow, 8/23/16, in West Union, WV. Attend the public hearing and use your voice to protect our water!
What: Antero Landfill Stormwater Permit Public Hearing
When: August 23, 2016 at 6:00 p.m.
Where: Doddridge County High School Auditorium, 79 Bulldog Dr, West Union, WV 26456
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{ 1 comment… read it below or add one }
Antero Landfill Comments Due May 11, 2017
“I have submitted one comment already, but in light of the FOIA documents I received yesterday from the DEP as a result of Freedom of Information Act Request # 2017-04-066, I have more to add.
This FOIA request was in regard to a truck wreck where the truck was carrying frack waste. If this facility proceeds, they plan to have 600 trucks A DAY on our roads, and many of them will be carrying concentrated radioactive sludge (to be disposed of somewhere out west, they’ve said vaguely), which is far worse than even the toxic brine. But we evidently can’t properly handle the cleanup of one truck wreck.
When I look at the timeline of events from the documents, and the lab data, many questions are raised. The soil samples are claimed to have been taken at noon and after (even the “before” cleanup samples), yet time-stamped photos show the material had been excavated by then. And those samples weren’t taken to the lab until after I’d been told by the DEP in writing everything had been cleaned up. Of course, there was no way for you all at the DEP to know if everything had been cleaned, since the results weren’t in yet–could not be in before they even rec’d the soil samples for testing.
In fact, results still aren’t really in, per se, since the lab reports EVERY sample didn’t meet testing criteria.
The DEP report says no samples were taken. The Hall Incident report does not mention samples. It seems to be perfectly possible that samples weren’t taken until after I began asking for data and info about the incident, possibly samples were not even taken from the site in question. Regardless, even were they taken when they were stated to have been taken, it would not fit a reasonable timeline, as the area would already have been cleaned up. And then the late samples would have been held for days more before the lab received them. Wherever the samples came from and whenever they were taken, they did not meet testing criteria.
There are other problems. Photos show cleanup didn’t happen until many hours after the incident (it was light when cleanup began according to photos, sun rose at about 6:50am that day). DEP investigator states he didn’t arrive until 7am. He was not notified by email about the incident until after 8 am. In the email notification at that time, the size of the spill was not yet known. It’s unclear how the investigator would be able to distinguish spilled brine that had been spreading/evaporating/soaking into soil for at least five hours, possibly longer. It’s unclear where the estimate of the spill size could have come from from that reason. DEP reps originally claimed to me (in writing) that spilled brine was from a “pinhole.” Instead, it was from a leaky seal. The landfill manifest didn’t mention any material other than petroleum products for the excavated material (even though brine and antifreeze were also spilled). NO report mentioned what sort of antifreeze was spilled (some types are more toxic than others) And my FOIA request was not responded to in a timely manner, and violated WV Code for that reason.
Etc. Etc.
Again, Antero plans to have 600 trucks A DAY on our roads—this was a wreck hauling Antero waste. If this permit is approved, many of those trucks would be carrying concentrated radioactive sludge (somewhere out west, they’ve said vaguely), which is far worse than even the toxic brine.
This is unacceptable. The infrastructure to provide oversight is evidently lacking for Antero either overall or at the least with their contractors. Their samplers have training issues. This incident should result in a serious citation, because proper sampling has STILL not been done. It may be too late. They have proved their unacceptable laxity, and by the delays in my receiving the requested information from the WV DEP, it’s not clear that you are able to provide proper oversight even for the current level of risk to us, much less should that risk be multiplied. As I mentioned in my other comment, there are no source water protections or limits on discharges, and the radiation detection system is inadequate. Seems like their system was designed with the same laxity as their contractors used to deal with the cleanup of a single truck.
Not acceptable. I care about my neighbors and my community. You must not issue this permit, and you must not allow this to be inflicted on us here in Ritchie and Doddridge.
Deny this permit, and demand they move their frack waste dump to their own neighborhood. If it has to be inflicted on any poor soul, let them inflict it on themselves, not on others.
Lissa Lucas
Cairo, Ritchie County, WV