Bruceton Landfill Nixed

Panel votes, 3-0, not to change the site plan

Morgantown Dominion Post
7 July 2001
By Michelle Wolford

KINGWOOD — The Preston County Solid Waste Authority won’t change its site plan to allow for a landfill in Bruceton Mills. The PCSWA met with Friends of the Cheat (FOC), a nonprofit that works to protect and preserve the Cheat River watershed, and with residents of the Bruceton area. After FOC Executive Director Amanda Pitzer told the board what she knew about the proposed oil and gas waste storage facility, PCSWA Chair Fred Taylor asked the audience of about 30, “How many of you are from Bruceton Mills?” Most raised a hand. “How many of you are for a landfill?” he asked next. Not one hand was raised. Pitzer said CCS Midstream, a company with bases in Houston and Canada, chose the Bruceton site because of its proximity to Interstate 68 and because the northern part of Preston County is becoming a hub of Marcellus Shale well-drilling activity.

But the location is also home to the Little and Big Sandy creeks, and is a vibrant tourist destination for water sports enthusiasts. And Big Sandy is close to being removed from the Department of Environmental Protection’s list of impaired streams.

“We respectfully ask you guys not to approve this site,” Pitzer said.

Trenton Bryte, a 9-year-old from Bruceton, told Taylor and SWA members Greg Sypolt and Alton Auvil that “the Big Sandy and Cheat River are very important to me.” He said he enjoys hunting, fishing, swimming and camping there. “All I love to do might have to stop [if the landfill goes in]. Please help keep Preston County clean.”

“Everywhere I’ve been, everyone I’ve talked to is strictly against the landfill,” Taylor said.

Sypolt made the motion: “I move the Preston County Solid Waste Authority not change its siting plan to allow any landfills.”

All three members present voted in favor of the motion.

PCSWA members George Shaffer and Mike Pase were absent from the meeting, but the vote carried because a quorum was present.

Both the Department of Environmental Protection and the Public Service Commission have said the PCSWA is the first hurdle in the permitting process.

DEP spokeswoman Kathy Cosco told The Dominion Post in April that CCS Midstream would have to receive authorization from the PCSWA and the PSC before it could apply to the DEP for a permit.

Susan Small, a PSC spokeswoman, said that body would not act on any such application without approval of the Preston County Solid Waste Authority.

But residents are still concerned. Rick Benson, who lives close to the proposed site on Benson Road, said the PCSWA vote “is a major accomplishment, but it’s just the first battle in the war. It’s a stepping stone in the right direction.”

Harry Lewis, who lives two miles north of Interstate 68, said he’s cautiously optimistic.

“I think it’s good news, but I won’t be happy till someone buys that property and puts an amusement park on it,” he said. “This is good news, but I don’t think we’ve heard the last.”