CHARLES TOWN, W.Va. — After a meeting that lasted over three hours Monday night, the Charles Town City Council decided to not vote on the approval of a water and sewer bond submitted by Rockwool.
Instead, the council drew up two amendments. The first was for the council to request 6 months worth of utility bills detailing the water and sewer usage at the Rockwool facility in Marshall County, Mississippi. This stemmed from conversation over the disparity of water usage quoted in Rockwool’s application to the DEP versus the current estimation by Rockwool officials.
The second amendment asks for the Jefferson County Utility Board to discuss with the city council the water and sewer bond application that Rockwool submitted to the State Public Service Commission two weeks ago.
A utility board representative said during the meeting that traces of chemicals from Rockwool would not be a threat to human health. The percentage of chemicals present were in the “lowest percentile”.
A Rockwool representative in attendance said that the company would be able to provide those utility bills. It remains unclear if those documents will be in front of the council by their next meeting in two weeks.
Construction on the Rockwool wool insulation plant in Jefferson County, expected to open in 2020, has been the center of controversy among environmental activists.
Story by Elias McMillan