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DAVIS -- Despite published reports to the contrary, an Air Quality Permit application for the proposed Fundamental Data power plant to be built in Tucker County has not been approved by the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection, officials said.
According to a representative from the DEP, no decision has been made on the permit application that was submitted for the proposed Ridgeline Power Plant, which, if constructed, will be located between the towns of Davis and Thomas.
"When we receive an application for a project, we conduct an initial review and evaluation," Terry Fletcher, Chief Communications Officer for the West Virginia DEP, wrote in an email to The Inter-Mountain Friday. "If that review finds that the application demonstrates the project will meet all applicable state and federal air quality laws, then the application and a draft permit are put out to public notice and open for public comment, typically for 30 days.
"After that public comment period, we review all comments received, respond to those comments, and then take final action."
Fletcher said that draft materials for the proposed facility went out to public notice on June 18, and that the public comment period ends on July 18. The DEP has scheduled two public meetings, with the first being on 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 Thursday, 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."
Fundamental Data, based in Purcellville, Virginia, has no information on its website (fundementaldata.com) other than its name and a copyright notice.
The company's proposed 500-acre natural gas power plant in Tucker County will likely be used to fuel a data center.
In a legal notice published earlier this month, the DEP outlined the potential discharge amounts listed in the Air Quality Report for the project, 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.