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Unlocking Options for Renters & Landlords in the Pandemic

March 5, 2021

March 21 — Virtual Walk In The Woods Fundraiser with PVAS

February 26, 2021

2021 American Conservation Film Festival

February 26, 2021

Exhibit at Berkeley Art Works Celebrates Historic African-American Cemetery

February 26, 2021

Book Review: Pop

February 26, 2021

March 5 — Virtual Concert: A Celtic Celebration

February 26, 2021

Feeling The Heartbeat Of Spring Emerging

February 26, 2021

March 9 — Speak Stories Presents Chetter Galloway

February 26, 2021

Take An Online Art Class This March At Berkeley Art Works

February 26, 2021

Connecting Solar In Jefferson County

February 24, 2021

A Look At Rural Zoning In Jefferson County

February 24, 2021

Inkwells Tavern Reopens in Charles Town

February 24, 2021

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In Print

drinking water

Taking Waters Into Their Own Hands

February 1, 2021 Tagged With: drinking water, groundwater, Jefferson County Foundation, karst geology, rockwool, water pollution, West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection

A map of drinking water wells and municipal water source protection areas proximal to the Rockwool factory in Jefferson County.

Concerned that West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection (WVDEP) oversight is insufficient to protect the water underlying their property from the threat of pollutants from the planned nearby Rockwool factory, a group of local residents is hiring experts to test their water to establish a record to use in possible future legal action. Read the Full Story >>

Counting on the Well Water

December 1, 2020 Tagged With: air pollution, drinking water, groundwater, Jefferson County Foundation, karst, karst geology, rockwool, water pollution

A map of drinking water wells near the site of the Rockwool facility in Ranson.

After the WV Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) issued a notice on November 5, 2020 that it was authorizing the Rockwool stone wool insulation manufacturing facility in Ranson to operate under a general water pollution control permit, the Jefferson County Foundation noted that the source water protection area map submitted as part of the facility’s application process marked only 4 drinking water wells within the one mile buffer zone. Read the Full Story >>

Clean Drinking Water Bill to be Introduced

January 3, 2020 Tagged With: department of environmental protection, drinking water, Tracy Danzey, water pollution

A narrow, winding river courses off into the distance through the connected valleys of surrounding forested mountains.

On December 16, several members of the House of Delegates, I included, held a press conference in Charleston at which we announced that we would be sponsoring a bill that would significantly improve drinking water protection. Read the Full Story >>

Kunkel Endeavoring to Challenge Both Establishment and Mooney in Bid for U.S. House Seat 

December 9, 2019 Tagged With: Cathy Kunkel, climate change, coal, congress, drinking water, elections

Cathy Kunkel

Earlier this year, Cathy Kunkel announced her candidacy for West Virginia’s second Congressional district in the U.S. House—running as a Democrat, and, if she secures the nomination, challenging Congressman Alex Mooney (R-West Virginia) in November 2020. Read the Full Story >>

Do We Need to Pollute the Water to Create Jobs?

October 10, 2019 Tagged With: drinking water, groundwater, karst geology, rockwool, water pollution, West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection

Rockwool

On October 23, the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection (WVDEP) will hold a public hearing on Rockwool’s applications for two stormwater permits. The hearing will begin at 6pm in the Storer Ballroom of the Shepherd University Student Center and will end at 8pm. Any citizen concerned about drinking water should come to this hearing. Read the Full Story >>

Local Land Trusts Aim to Help Protect Drinking Water Supplies

April 17, 2019 Tagged With: conservation easement, drinking water, groundwater, Jefferson County Historic Landmarks Commission

When Jefferson County’s municipal water customers turn on their faucets, they may not think about saving farmland or Civil War battlefields. Martin Burke, chair of the Jefferson County Historic Landmarks Commission, would like to change that. Read the Full Story >>

Rockwool: Point – Counterpoint

October 24, 2018 Tagged With: air pollution, drinking water, Jefferson County Vision, rockwool, zoning

Last month, The Observer attempted to tell the basic story behind the arrival of the Rockwool plant to Jefferson County. Now we’re taking the opportunity to allow one representative from each side to say their piece. Read the Full Story >>

Berkeley Springs: Home to the World’s Most Renowned Water Tasting Festival

January 30, 2018 Tagged With: Berkeley Springs International Water Tasting Festival, drinking water, Festival

The 28th-Annual Berkeley Springs International Water Tasting Festival is set for February 22-25 at The Country Inn of Berkeley Springs, in the center of town. At this point, most natives in the Panhandle are well aware of the jovial, notably informative event. But what folks might not realize is how far and wide the Festival has spread in the last near-30 years. Read the Full Story >>

Jefferson County Leading the Way for Clean Water in WV

December 4, 2017 Tagged With: Blue Ridge Watershed Coalition, drinking water, groundwater, Jefferson County Parks and Recreation, Safe Water for West Virginia, West Virginia Rivers Coalition

A family film festival isn’t the first thing that comes to mind to spread the word about protecting water supplies. And that’s exactly why West Virginia Rivers Coalition sponsored the series as part of its Safe Water for West Virginia. “Most of what impacts water supply happens upstream of the intake, where the majority of county residents live and work,” said Autumn Crowe, program director for WV Rivers. “What we do on our lawns and parking lots matters, too.” Read the Full Story >>

Clean Energy: Saving Lives and Livelihoods

November 12, 2017 Tagged With: air pollution, climate change, coal, coal mining, drinking water, From the Ashes, renewable energy

Coal is the word on everyone’s lips right now, especially in West Virginia. What began as a thriving solution for powering America so many years ago has become an unsustainable industry that has been steadily declining for several decades. Read the Full Story >>

The Elk River Spill Two Years Later

March 31, 2016 Tagged With: drinking water, Elk River, EPA

The buzzword about Congress these days is gridlock: the left and right are too far apart to get anything done, and compromise (at least among some) is now a dirty word. Yet in December, the U.S. Senate passed a major overhaul of one of America’s most outdated environmental and public health laws, the Toxic Substances Control Act. This follows House passage of a separate reform bill in June. No one can claim that the chemical spill in Charleston’s Elk River two years ago last month triggered reform. But surely, a public health disaster of such magnitude couldn’t go unnoticed, even in the tone-deaf halls of Congress. Read the Full Story >>

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