Pocahontas turned away at wind site

Henry T. "Mac" McBride, left, speaks to Pocahontas County Coordinator Jay Miller, second from left, and Pocahontas County Commission president Martin Saffer, right, as surveyor Jeff Hiner (front) looks on. McBride told Pocahontas officials they could not accompany Hiner and members of the boundary commission onto his property Saturday. (Recorder photo by Jim Jacenich) MONTEREY — After driving from Marlinton, W.Va., early Saturday morning to accompany the West Virginia Boundary Commission to the Highland New Wind Development project, Pocahontas County commissioners were told in no uncertain terms they would not be allowed onto McBride family property.

Two of three members of the boundary commission came to Allegheny Mountain to see the place where the Virginia/West Virginia line had been surveyed for the HNWD utility. Pocahontas commissioners arrived to join them, but HNWD owner Mac McBride refused to allow the Pocahontas contingent on his property.

Pocahontas, after learning the state line had been surveyed by HNWD differently from the U.S. Geological Survey boundary, asked West Virginia Gov. Joe Manchin to reinstate a long dormant boundary commission, per West Virginia law. Manchin did — appointing three men to the commission, and asking them to review the boundary dispute and recommend action.

Two members of the West Virginia Boundary Commission came to Highland Saturday to take a look at the place where the state line is in dispute. A discussion ensued about the meeting, and ultimately only three were allowed on the site — surveyor Jeff Hiner, and the boundary commission members. Pictured are (l-r): David Fleming, Pocahontas commissioner; Jay Miller, Pocahontas county coordinator; Hiner; Mac McBride, owner of Highland New Wind Development; Geoffrey Hamill of the Pocahontas Times; and boundary commission members Rick Sypolt and Curt Keplinger. (Recorder photo by Jim Jacenich) Boundary commissioners Curt Keplinger, Rick Sybolt, and Tom Rayburn have taken up the issue.

Saturday, Keplinger and Sybolt came to the state line along U.S. 250 to join Pocahontas officials Martin Saffer and David Fleming, plus HNWD surveyor Jeff Hiner for an on-the-ground look at the situation. McBride and his son, Tal, met them at the entrance to Camp Allegheny, at about 10:30 a.m.

After introductions, Mac McBride told the Pocahontas officials they were not allowed on his land.

"I was personally invited by members of the boundary commission," Saffer explained to McBride.

"Well, you are personally uninvited by me," McBride replied.

After an awkward silence, Sybolt explained the boundary commission had been instructed that since its third member, Rayburn, had not been able to attend, he and Keplinger were only to gather information. They were not to discuss anything about the state line issue between them, or with others, until they held a public meeting later.

Saffer turned to McBride and asked, "Do you mean that if we accompany this commission on the site you will have us arrested for trespassing?"

"Yes, sir, I will," McBride replied.

Light-heartedly, Saffer pointed to the issue at hand, about where the state line actually is. "Well, that gives us an interesting jurisdictional issue, doesn't it? Would you be calling the Pocahontas deputies or the Highland deputies, West Virginia or Virginia?"

Tal and Mac McBride, however, did not appear amused.

"Virginia," Tal said coldly. "We're in Virginia."

Sybolt told Saffer there wasn't anything he could do if the McBrides didn't want Pocahontas officials on their property.

Mac McBride ignored ensuing conversation, told Saffer to let the boundary commissioners do their job, and took Keplinger and Sybolt across the street to the entrance to Tamarack Ridge. They went alone, with Hiner, to the site, while the McBrides left.

After they departed, Saffer was disappointed, but not interested in making an issue of the situation.

"It's clear Mr. McBride isn't interested in a dialogue with West Virginia," he said, "but there's no point in picking a fight. The boundary commission will do its job. It's apparent that the McBrides are not receptive to a full discussion of this issue."

Highland supervisors learned of the meeting in advance, and county administrator Roberta Lambert was asked by supervisor Jerry Rexrode to attend as a member of the county's Technical Review Committee and report back to the board.

Friday, supervisor Robin Sullenberger told Lambert she should do that. But then, after midnight, Lambert told supervisor David Blanchard that Sullenberger had second thoughts. "Per Robin, John Flora (HNWD attorney) has suggested that the surveyors coming to HNWD today be allowed to do the necessary reviews without feeling pressure from all parties involved, so neither Jerry or I will be going out," she told Blanchard.

Consequently, no Highland County officials attended.

This week, Sybolt told The Recorder the commission is guided by West Virginia's ethics act and the rules and regulations of the Open Government Proceedings Act.

An open meeting is tentatively scheduled Nov. 19, at which he expects the commission to reach a decision on the information it has gathered. The commission is using data collected by Hiner, along with satellite photos and historical information. He and Keplinger took about 30 photos of the area as they toured the site with Hiner, and he said Hiner explained the processed used to survey the line for the project.

"It appears to me the ridge is reasonably well-defined," Sybolt said.

He said he was not certain whether the commission would request West Virginia hire its own surveyor, but members would make that decision at their meeting. Beyond that, the research they have is probably enough, he said. "There's nothing else we can really do," he said, "except go back and double-check Jeff Hiner's work, but there's no belief he's done anything incorrectly."

As for the officials turned away by McBride, Sybolt said, "That may have partially been our fault, I don't know. We felt all parties should know we were going, so we told (Pocahontas) about the trip."

Sybolt expects the commission to handle the issues and expedite the process. He hopes a decision will be made by Thanksgiving.

The governor's office has tentatively scheduled the commission's public meeting for Thursday, Nov. 19, at 1 p.m., in Conference Room 122 of Building 5 at the Capitol in Charleston, W.Va.

At their meeting Tuesday, Pocahontas officials discussed requesting the meeting be held in Pocahontas, so those in West Virginia and in Virginia could attend more easily, but that request has not been made yet.

Sybolt says the meeting will include a complete discussion of the commission's findings, and he expects members will make a final recommendation on the dispute.