Group: Cement Dumped Into Stream
Friends of Cheat concerned about unauthorized action
Morgantown Dominion Post
2 February 2012
By Michelle Wolford
KINGWOOD — A Morgantown-based company with a facility in Kingwood
has been ordered to stop dumping cement into a stream.
Amanda Pitzer, director of Friends of the Cheat, a nonprofit
watershed advocacy group, said she contacted the U.S. Army Corps
of Engineers after she saw photos of cement dumped into Morgan
Run, near the Preston Concrete plant on Old Tunnelton Road in
Kingwood.
“It’s an illegal dredge and fill,” Pitzer said. “It’s flagrant. We
have businesses in this community that obey the rules and
regulations. When it is repetitive and flagrant, Friends of the
Cheat is here to help advocate for the affected citizens.
“We’ve known about the problem for over a year,” she said. “We
contacted the state Department of Environmental Protection. I
thought it was also important to notify the Corps. We contacted
them and they came out and found additional dumps upstream.”
According to a release from the Corps of Engineers, a cease and
desist order was issued to Preston Concrete in December for
“unauthorized fill being discharged near or into Morgan Run.”
Friends of the Cheat provided a copy of a certified letter mailed
to Robert Walls, the company owner, on Dec. 19. The letter
indicates that such “unauthorized fill” is a violation of the
federal Clean Water Act, which could result in civil fines. But,
the letter continues, “it is not the intent of the Corps of
Engineers to impose monetary fines or initiate legal action if
this matter can be resolved informally.”
According to the letter, “Morgan Run’s banks and stream bed has
been a site of many past and present unauthorized fill activities
within several locations along your property.”
Walls said he is working with the Corps of Engineers to remedy the
situation. He said the Corps has asked that he replace culverts,
including one that runs in front of the concrete plant, but Walls
said he doesn’t think he should have to replace it since he
doesn’t own it — the Division of Highways does.