• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

The Observer

Stories of West Virginia's Eastern Panhandle

  • Home
  • Sightline Stories
    • Solar in Jefferson County
    • Remembering Hartstown
  • Pandemic Stories
  • COVID-19 Resources

Primary Sidebar

Latest Stories

Particularly Interesting Art

April 16, 2021

Solar in Jefferson County

April 11, 2021

Shepherdstown University Art Students Exhibit

April 10, 2021

A Vision for Hill Top House

April 2, 2021

2021 PVAS Race For The Birds

April 2, 2021

Speak Stories Hosts Len Cabral – April 13

April 2, 2021

Book Review: Remaking Appalachia

April 1, 2021

Keep Your Bird Feeders Clean

April 1, 2021

Rebuilding A Shopping Destination In Downtown Charles Town

April 1, 2021

Discover History At The Jefferson County Museum

April 1, 2021

Shepherdstown Library Gets a New Website

April 1, 2021

Building An Organic Farm From The Ground Up

April 1, 2021

Read all stories

In Print

karst geology

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 >>

The Water Connecting Us

September 1, 2020 Tagged With: brownfields, cave, groundwater, karst geology, Lakeland Caverns, rockwool, USGS, water pollution, WVDEP, zoning

map of Caverns in Jefferson County, West Virginia.

One hundred years ago, underneath the Old Opera House in Charles Town, locals and tourists danced the night away beside a crystal-clear lake inside a cavern filled with orchestral tones. Today, the Lakeland Caverns cave is quiet, all entries sealed off from the public.  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 >>

Footer

Local Coverage

  • Elections
  • COVID-19

Read Online

  • Arts & Entertainment
  • Book Reviews
  • Community
  • Economy & Environment
  • Education
  • Government
  • Public Health

Sightline Stories

  • Solar in Jefferson County
  • Remembering Hartstown

Local

  • Events and Live Entertainment
  • Shepherdstown
  • Harpers Ferry & Bolivar
  • Charles Town & Ranson

The Observer

  • About
  • Advertise
  • Connect With Us
  • Print Issues
  • Terms of Use

Follow Us

  • Facebook

Copyright © 2021 WV Independent Observer LLC · Log in