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DAVIS -- The West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection recently approved an Air Quality Permit application for the proposed Fundamental Data power plant to be built in Tucker County.
The proposed Ridgeline Power Plant would be a 500-acre natural gas power plant fueling a data center. The facility would be located between the towns of Davis and Thomas if constructed. In recent weeks, residents of those two towns have been voicing their disapproval of the facility.
Davis Mayor Al Tomson said the amount of pollution the plant will put into the air is a danger to anyone who lives in either Davis or Thomas.
"The emissions from the plant that will go into the air are so toxic and dangerous," Tomson told The Inter-Mountain. "And to have the plant in close proximity to Thomas and Davis, as well as the (Davis Thomas) Elementary School, is just inconceivable. I just don't understand it at all."
The DEP has notified Tucker County residents and scheduled an upcoming public meeting for Monday from 6 to 9 p.m. in the Marple Balsam Spruce Room at Canaan Valley Resort State Park.
A virtual public meeting is also slated for July 17 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Written comments can be submitted at any time until 5 p.m. on July 18.
Emails can be sent to Jerry.Williams@wv.gov with the subject line "Fundamental Data Comments."
"I will be attending the DEP meeting on Monday and making some comments," Tomson said. "I think a lot of the people who are in the Thomas, Davis and Canaan Valley areas are really against this plant being built here, because we are going to be the ones most affected by the emissions from it. But the people who live in the Parsons area are really focusing on how it will bring in revenue and jobs. That's why you are seeing a little bit of a difference in attitude people have in Tucker County. It really depends on where they live."
In a legal notice published earlier this month, the DEP outlined the potential discharge amounts listed in the Air Quality Report, including: Volatile Organic Compounds, 44.21 tons per year (TPY); Nitrogen Oxides, 99.35 TPY; Carbon Monoxide, 56.36 TPY; Sulfur Dioxide, 55.89 TPY; Total Particulate Matter, 97.46 TPY; Particulate Matter less than 2.5 microns in diameter, 71.54 TPY; and Total Hazardous Air Pollutants, 9.70 TPY.
Grass-roots advocacy group Tucker United has been making its rounds across Tucker County and speaking to officials about the Ridgeline Power Plant. Tomson said the group, which spoke at the most recent Parsons City Council meeting, is planning for a battle in the courtroom.
"The group Tucker United is filing a legal action," Tomson said. "They are going to oppose the building of the power plant and take it through the courts now, as opposed to just the DEP process."