West Virginia agency says project drainage covered

MONTEREY — A recent letter from the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection about the Highland New Wind Development project caused some confusion about whether the 38-megawatt utility's site plans had changed.

According to officials, however, that does not appear to be the case.

DEP responded to a request for information from the Pocahontas County Commission about the turbines proposed near or on the West Virginia state line for HNWD's Highland County, Va., facility.

DEP's Oct. 26 response to commission president Martin Saffer said HNWD advised DEP a proposed section of an access road and three turbine sites "have been moved and are clearly in Virginia."

DEP acting director Scott Mandirola wrote, "The developer also advised the agency that a modification of the Virginia National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System water Pollution control permit will be submitted to the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation in the near future documenting the changes."

Pocahontas is concerned about a drainage basin originating on the project in Virginia that encompassed portions of West Virginia, and could impact a protected stream on the Monongahela National Forest.

"In regards to the discharge of stormwater from Virginia into West Virginia waters, the project is covered under (the Virginia permit)," Mandirola explained. "Virginia's permitting program contains equivalent stormwater controls to those of West Virginia's permitting program. If any impact to West Virginia waters is observed during construction it will be dealt with appropriately."

According to Pocahontas resident Dawn Barrett, who had also contacted the DEP and Virginia's Department of Conservation and Recreation about the issue, DEP indicated if more than one acre of land is disturbed in West Virginia, DEP will require a permit.

She said DCR communications manager Gary Waugh told her that the construction previously planned in West Virginia had been relocated so there will be little, if any, land disturbance in West Virginia. Waugh told her it was impossible to be absolutely sure from HNWD's site plan, and there are two small areas of grading planned very close to the state line, but the way the land is sloped, all run-off would stay in Virginia.

A DEP inspector came to the project site Sept. 4, and determined no construction was taking place on the West Virginia side of the line.

Bill Timmermeyer, DEP program manager, told Barrett that environmental enforcement officials at DEP discussed the issue with HNWD and were assured no construction would take place in Pocahontas. Stormwater run-off from the project is covered under a Virginia permit, and Timmermeyer told her no West Virginia permit would be needed if land disturbance in that state was less than one acre.

Mandirola told The Recorder Wednesday what he wrote to Saffer reflected was DEP officials were told by the developer, and he understood there was a question about where the state border was. "When (plans) were designed by the engineers, they used the border from surveys (at U.S. Geological Survey) and that was used in mapping of the original (turbine) pads," he said. "Then the decision was made they would move the (towers) to Virginia, irregardless of where the line actually was."

DEP's letter to Saffer refers to updates to HNWD's Virginia permit coverage, but Virginia's DCR doesn't believe that will be necessary.

"That's what I was told," Mandirola said. "I had been informed there was to be a modification of (the permit) to DCR of Virginia."

"According to our stormwater pemitting staff," Waugh told The Recorder, "if the acreage did not change there would be no need to submit a new registration statement or change coverage under the general permit. However, any changes would need to be reflected in the SWPPP."

Keith Fowler at the Valley Regional Office of the Department of Environmental Quality also reviewed DEP's letter. He, too, did not believe any towers had been moved from the sites depicted on the original plans, and that DCR was closely monitoring construction.

Highland County administrator Roberta Lambert, who served on the committee that approved HNWD's site plans, confirmed no turbines had been relocated since the plans were approved in August.

Mandirola said, "I do know there will be minimal land disturbance in West Virginia that's not above the threshold (for DEP permitting). It's an insignificant amount.

"There may still be drainage crossing over (the state line) but that's being regulated by Virginia," he added. "What we would regulate under West Virginia's permit is equivalent to what Virginia has. They regulate any drainage coming off that site." As long as HNWD meets its Virginia permit requirements, he said, "it should not cause a problem in West Virginia. If we do see problems, those will be handled accordingly and coordinated with West Virginia and Virginia inspectors."