West Virginia Code Chapter 22-1-1 states that “Restoring and protecting the environment is fundamental to the health and welfare of individual citizens, and our government has a duty to provide and maintain a healthful environment for our citizens.”
But a loophole in WV law will allow frackwaste runoff to be treated as stormwater as it flows into the Hughes River just upstream of Harrisville’s drinking water intake, and from there downstream to Parkersburg and beyond.
Frackwaste is harmful to health. Because frackwaste runoff from Antero’s Frack Dump will be considered stormwater—and the frack dump has been purposefully sited in the peripheral zone of concern for the drinking water intake for about a third of the population of the county (Harrisville also supplies Pennsboro and Cairo), we must point out that Antero, other companies in the fracking industry that the dump will serve, and the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection are not acting in good faith or following WV Code.
By signing, I am joining the appeal and requesting the retraction of Antero’s National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Permit WV0117579.
The Appalachian Oracle 