Dear Editor:

In the November 30 Pocahontas Times, Bill Rock, General Manager of Snowshoe, stated that a regional plant was the only “effective answer for the uneven, karst terrain that is all around us.”

I’d like to refer Mr. Rock and your readers to the document “Helping Solve Local Wastewater Problems – A Guide for West Virginia Watershed Organizations” prepared by the West Virginia Rivers Coalition (www.wvrivers.org) which states:

“West Virginia’s steep terrain, low population density, and below-average per capita income present unique challenges. Compared with other states, it is often too expensive to build centralized collection systems.”

WVRC recommends “clustered” or “hybrid” systems - small package treatment plants for clusters of homes/developments in remote areas and treating the waste at the source to avoid the cost of expensive and extensive piping collection systems, manholes and pumping stations - all potential sources of leaks:

“Extra water called infiltration and inflow often finds its way into these pipes through cracks or where pipe segments come together.”  “The cracks also allow raw sewage to leak out of the collection system into the ground, whenever the water table is below the pipes.”

The proposed regional plant requires installation of over 5 miles of PVC pipe to transport raw sewage through the Big Spring Fork valley which is underlain with karst – limestone caves, springs and underground streams – where the local water table is located several feet below the surface and proposed pipeline elevations. 

Residents who live in the valley get their water from wells which are part of this underground system.  Any leak from a failed piping joint or any one of the many manholes will result in raw sewage immediately entering and being transported into the underground streams and caves and will have an immediate and lasting impact on these drinking water sources and public health.

There are alternatives to a regional plant that are less expensive and would have a positive impact on the karst and groundwater in the Big Spring Fork valley.

One such alternative would be to modify the existing wastewater treatment plants at Snowshoe / Silver Creek with a technology called “immersed membranes” – microfilters that extract ultra-pure water from the aeration basins of a wastewater plant. 

This water can be recycled for use in irrigation, fire protection, watershed recharge and even for snowmaking.  Several ski resorts in the U.S. and Australia have already adopted this technology.  

Recycling water from wastewater effluent is encouraged by the Federal government through grants/tax credits to projects which implement this technology.  Permitting agencies tend to grant higher waste load allocations for membrane treatment facilities due to the high quality effluent.

Immersed membrane retrofits have the added bonus of typically doubling (or more) the capacity of the existing treatment facility as the removal of water increases the activated sludge concentration in the aeration basin which increases the effectiveness of the microbes in digesting the sludge. 

A Pittsburgh based engineering firm has estimated an immersed membrane retrofit of Snowshoe’s facility would cost $5-8 million dollars - a fraction of the original $13 million dollar (currently $20 million dollar) cost estimate for the regional plant.

This option does not require building a new plant – this can all be achieved by simply modifying the existing plants at Snowshoe / Silver Creek with immersed membrane technology. 

We believe that by working together a safe and sustainable solution can be found that addresses the needs and issues of all stakeholders, while also preserving the unique and fragile natural resources and protecting the groundwater of the Big Spring Fork watershed.

Regards,

George Phillips
President
Eight Rivers Safe Development, Inc.

Editor’s Note: Our moratorium on letters concerning the Slaty Fork Wastewater Treatment Plant is lifted this week as Mr. Phillips responded to a column in our newspaper and he brings up a new facet of the ongoing issue.

Dear Editor,

During this holiday season, we at NRAO want to wish each and every one of you, our county friends and neighbors, greetings and best wishes.

As many of you know, the NRAO mailed out holiday greeting postcards this season. Our intention was to distribute this card to all Pocahontas County residents to express our appreciation for 50 years of wonderful relationships we have made here.

In order to distribute to all the mailing addresses, a “simplified address” list was provided to us by the various post offices around the county, and the majority of residents in the county received their greeting in a timely manner.  However, we were later informed by the postmaster in Marlinton that this method was not acceptable for delivery within the city limits of the town. Therefore, there was a delay in distributing our cards  to the residents living in Marlinton.

We apologize for this delay and hope that all households have now received their cards.  Through a great deal of effort by Cara Rose of our staff, and with the great help of Pam Pritt, of the Pocahontas Times, Star Barlow and Mayor Dotty Kellison, of the Town of Marlinton, and our wonderful postmaster, Doris Stump in Green Bank, we were able to get these cards to the residents of Marlinton.

We hope everyone in the county enjoyed receiving the greeting card and again, the employees of NRAO extend a warm greeting and Christmas wish to all residents of Pocahontas County this holiday season.  It is a pleasure to be here.

Michael J. Holstine, P.E.
Business Manager
National Radio Astronomy Observatory
Green Bank

Dear Editor:

I wanted to add a note concerning the letter by Karen Bowers regarding the use of dogs for hunting.  First of all,  the human attitude towards animal "ownership"  degrades animals,  I believe anyone who "owns" any animal for any reason should have to undergo a screening and license procedure tailored to specificity of purpose. 

Knowing that will never happen, other means of educating our young people must be made available, as they will be the only ones to make lasting changes.  Animals enrich our lives on many levels, and yet, more than a few choose to abuse, weaken, and humble them to their egotistical whims.  

On a recent trip to Kinnison mountain in southern Pocahontas County, the first day of bear hunting season, it was 10 degrees, snowing, windy.  As I turned onto  the Scenic Highway to take a few pictures, I noticed that at regular quarter mile intervals hunters sat , huddled snugly in warm,  idling trucks, chatting over steaming coffee or whatever. Open dog pens on the truck beds signaled their occupants were out, equipped with GPS navigation devices, no doubt,  chasing prey to within sight range.  So sporting!

Later that same day, driving to the grocery in Marlinton,  there was a group parading a fresh bear carcass around, propped up against the back of the cab of the truck in a mock pose, it seemed so sad to me that they were truly happy about  the spectacle,one young hunter posing with the dead bear arm around his shoulder, like they were old buddies.

Thanks for bringing up the issue, Karen.

Bob McClure
Cleveland, GA