http://www.8riverssafedevelopment.com

http://www.snowshoemtn.com

http://www.savethesharpfarm.com

Angling Publications - Index

Angling Publications - Fly Fish America - September 2007 Issue - Index

Long considered one of the best trout streams in West Virginia, the Elk River is now under threat from a proposed waste water
down into the river.) Rather, what I carried
away from that fishing trip was Gil's
tale about the battle for control of private
property; the conflict between comfort,
convenience, and conservation; and the
uncertain future of the Elk River. Sit
down, and let me tell you a story.
Long considered one of the best trout
streams in West Virginia, the Elk River is
now the unwitting subject of a lawsuit recently
filed by 8 Rivers Safe Development
(www.8riverssafedevelopment.com)
against the West Virginia Department of
Environmental Protection (WVDEP).
8RSD alleges that WVDEP is violating
West Virginia and federal law by failing
to require that an environmental impact
study be undertaken before a new 20million-dollar
waste water treatment
facility is built near the headwaters of
the Elk River.
Apparently, the current plan is to reroute
as many as half a million gallons of water a
day from the Shavers Fork River watershed
into the Elk River watershed-and possibly
as many as a million and a half gallons a
day in years to come. But wait-there's
more. Another element of the plan is to
pipe raw sewage for five miles underground
through karst topography down the moun-
52
tain from Snowshoe Mountain Resort
(www.snowshoemtn.com), a very
popular winter sports destination. At its
winter peak time, Snowshoe caters to
up to 10,000 visitors on the weekends,
hence the need for more waste water
treatment.
Unfortunately, the resort's current
waste water treatment plant has been
cited for several environmental violations.
According to the WVDEP, the
Snowshoe plant was cited for violations
more than 30 times between 2004 and
2005. Of these violations, 25 were for
excessive ammonia nitrogen levels, which
are especially hard on trout. The WVDEP
has been investigating the environmental
compliance issues at Snowshoe for years
and at this writing is preparing to release
a consent decree for public notice.
Now things get personal: Claiming
eminent domain, the Pocahontas County
commissioners intend to appropriate
private property-the Sharp family
farm-as the site for the new plant. This
land has been in the Sharp family for
eight generations, says Tom Shipley, Sharp
family spokesman, and the family doesn't
intend to go quietly. To that end, Shipley
and his family have taken the fight to the
Internet at www.savethesharpfarm.com.
James Carpenter, president of the
Pocahontas County Commission, faces
mounting criticism for his handling of
the issue, but makes no bones about his
decision. "Thrasher Engineering has told
us [the Sharp Farm] site is safe, and I
have to believe them. Hiring an engineer
is like hiring a doctor; you have to trust
them to some extent. They have told us
the Sharp Farm is the best place for [the
waste water treatment facility] to go, and
that's where it's going.?
At the same time, opponents of the
scheme charge that Thrasher Engineering
has not adequately tested the Sharp
Farm site to determine its suitability
for such a plant. They note that at one
point Thrasher recommended discharging
the effluent from the proposed
plant into what is, in fact, a dry stream
bed. Thrasher has since relocated the
proposed effluent discharge site; critics,
however, argue that this oversight
is suggestive of larger flaws in the firm's
design. Thrasher is currently embroiled
in a lawsuit involving another waste
water system in Idamay, West Virginia,
which has left many of their citizens
using portable toilets years after the job