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COVID-19 Relief Grants

March 5, 2021

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

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In Print

water pollution

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 >>

Poisoned Land

July 1, 2020 Tagged With: Appalachia, book review, Fracking, groundwater, natural gas, water pollution

Book cover for novel called Lady Chevy by John Woods

The cover of John Woods’ debut novel Lady Chevy portrays a mountain landscape against an orange-hued backdrop. The colors may depict an oddly-tinted sunset or, more likely, the fiery, sulfurous sky of a land ravaged by the fracking industry, where flares emerging from giant towers light the horizon and tainted aquifers, flammable tap water, and earthquakes have become a normal occurrence. Read the Full Story >>

Country Roads Not Friendly to Rockwool

March 9, 2020 Tagged With: air pollution, Jefferson County Vision, Mountaineer Gas, rockwool, water pollution

Jefferson County Vision

The Rockwool factory in Ranson has been encountering some rocky roads as of late and the fight to keep them from their final destination continues. Read the Full Story >>

At the Crossroads of Passion and Purpose: She Walked the Walk

January 6, 2020 Tagged With: Resist Rockwool, rockwool, Tracy Danzey, water pollution

Resist Rockwool

Shepherdstown resident Tracy Danzey grew up in the Parkersburg (WV) area, in a little town called Vienna—an idyllic childhood as she recalls, suburban and wooded, with plenty of time spent outdoors and, especially, in the water.  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 >>

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 >>

American Conservation Film Festival Observes, Examines, and Confronts in 2018

October 8, 2018 Tagged With: air pollution, American Conservation Film Festival, climate change, film, water pollution

Polluted air and water, mass extinctions, depleted fisheries, shrinking forests, rising temperatures—humans are making a mess of the planet. But all is not lost (at least yet): “Solutions” is the theme of this year’s American Conservation Film Festival. Read the Full Story >>

SkyTruth Wants the World to See the Facts

November 17, 2016 Tagged With: coal, coal mining, John Amos, Mountaintop Removal, satellite imagery, SkyTruth, water pollution

A major tool in tracking the impact of mountaintop removal coal mining (MTR) will soon be available—and is being created by Jefferson County’s own SkyTruth. Read the Full Story >>

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