Pocahontas Struggles to Find Way to Treat Waste Water

Debate about a proposed wastewater treatment plant has divided the community.

Slaty Fork -- Drive either way on State Route 219 in Pocahontas County, and you will see them -- giant banners hung on barns deriding a plan to build a new wastewater treatment plant on the farm where the barns are located.

Part of the opposition is the result of the local PSD wanting to acquire the farm through eminent domain. But another part of the opposition stems from the simple fact that while society needs adequate wastewater treatment, no one wants a plant nearby.

The debate about the proposed plant has divided the community, and it sheds a light on just how complicated dealing with water and wastewater service can become.

"It has become a lightning rod for planning and development," said Martin Saffer, a Pocahontas County commissioner who was elected in 2006 in part because of his anti-eminent domain stance.

So how did the schism begin? It started back in 2001, when Snowshoe Mountain Resort started looking to build a new wastewater plant to serve the resort's guests and residents. The resort had to do something because the existing system was too small to accommodate the rapid growth atop the mountain. As a result, the Department of Environmental Protection has issued numerous discharge violations to the resort.

Snowshoe officials found a spot of land on their own property that would be suitable for the site. But neighbors complained, saying what was needed was a bigger, regional system that could serve not only the resort but also surrounding areas. The Pocahontas Public Service District agreed, as did the DEP.

"We were mandated to support a regional system ... and we think a regional plant is in the best interest of both the community and the resort," said Snowshoe General Manager Bill Rock.

A new plan was hatched -- one where the Pocahontas PSD would take over Snowshoe's public service district and build a new, larger plant to serve everyone. The PSD found what seemed to be a perfect site: the nine-acre Sharp Farm on state Route 219 five miles down the road from Snowshoe. The problem was the farm's owners, descendents of early settlers, didn't want to sell their land. Plus they said the land's terrain was not suitable for a wastewater plant.

So the PSD tried to use eminent domain to take the land. That's when the debate really heated up, eventually working all the way up to the state's Public Service Commission and the Governor's Office. And after three years, it still hasn't been resolved.

"It's a very serious matter to take property of someone for development. And in this case, the use of eminent domain was to satisfy the need of developers more than the need of government or the public," Saffer said.

Saffer said one of the biggest concerns he has as a county commissioner is the liability the county could face if the local PSD takes over the Snowshoe system.

"The present Snowshoe system is in ill repair and has been cited by the DEP," he said. "If Pocahontas PSD takes over, how much would it cost to repair it and what would the county be liable for? The shift of liability needs to be looked at. ... I'm not against the Pocahontas PSD taking over the Snowshoe PSD. We just need to be careful."

Last month, an environmental group came before the County Commission to discuss possible ways the environment could be damaged by locating a wastewater plant on Sharp Farm. The group, known as Eight Rivers Safe Development, also presented possible solutions for both sides to consider. The environmental group made its presentation again May 8, this time to the PSD.

Saffer said the key point of the presentation was to point out that the limestone terrain in the region is not suitable for wastewater plants. That's because under the surface, the terrain looks like a honeycomb with numerous caves and underground rivers.

"If you run sewer lines for five-plus miles from Snowshoe to the site it would be hazardous because if there is any type of failure, the damage to the groundwater would occur much more rapidly and be more detrimental," Saffer said. "The contamination rate would be measured in hours rather than in years."

To deal with those issues, the environmental group suggested a two-pronged solution. Saffer said the first step would be to retrofit the existing Snowshoe system with a state-of-the art membrane. The second prong would be to build small cluster systems using both the Elk and Shavers Fork rivers as water sources. The cluster systems then would support residents living outside of the resort.

The retrofitting option would be expensive for Snowshoe and the people who own condominiums up there, but then again building a whole new plant would be expensive, too.

"We shouldn't spend $20 million now where there are no customers," he said. "Let's use clusters to treat the population where it is."

Saffer said he was hopeful the PSD would consider Eight Rivers' solution.

"We are sort of at a Gettysburg, and I think we need to put down our arms and come to a solution," he said. "We want to save the state of West Virginia money, save the ratepayers money and reduce the discharge into the environment. Development is happening. We must address this issue."

Rock said he is happy to hear Saffer say he wants to find some solution and see the community mend itself. He also would like to see a solution that benefits the resort, as well as all of its neighbors. He said he believes the PSD has done a good job since the debate began, but finding a solution that pleases everyone is complicated.

"It's as important to Snowshoe as any other type of infrastructure," he said. "A new plant could spur future economic development in the region."

No one from the PSD could be reached for comment.