Wyoming County

This week, we’ve been talking about water in the coalfields. We met folks that deal with frequent water outages and boil water advisories because of crumbling water systems, and heard stories of folks living with no water source at all. We also learned that proper sewage disposal is still a challenge.

Progress has been made. Just this past year, the Elkhorn Water Project began. It's expected to bring clean water to folks living in several coal camp communities along Route 52 in McDowell County. A project in Wyoming County is expected to bring a permanent solution to water issues in Bud and Alpoca.

While the chemical spill in Charleston left more than 300,000 without usable water, it's a problem that folks in the coalfields deal with on a regular basis.

Mountainous regions like southern West Virginia have an abundance of water, but the terrain along with aging infrastructure create challenges, just as it has for decades.

A Wyoming County judge has ordered a coal operator to replace the water supplies of residents living near one of its mines.

Circuit Judge Warren McGraw granted an injunction sought by more than a dozen residents living near Mechel Bluestone's Dynamic Energy Inc. mining complex. The residents alleged that their water supplies were damaged by the mining operations.

McGraw's ruling says water test results submitted by the plaintiffs showed high levels of arsenic, aluminum, lead, iron and other pollutants.

According to request filed by attorneys at law Hannah and Hanna PLLC back in August, Black Diamond Power admits to overcharging customers $1,686,338 admits to collecting over a five year period.

The document indicates that the company serves about 4,300 so that’s about $385 per customer.

The company proposes to refund $488, 307 to customers over a five year period which would come through a rate reduction.  But Black Diamond Power wants to treat the remaining money, treat the remaining $1.198 million as a “customer contribution.”

It appears that the Staff of the Public Service Commission filed recommendations on October 1. In that document, the staff of PSC recommends about $900,000 be recorded as a customer contribution and a reduction of rate base.

Thirty West Virginians were killed as a result of domestic violence in just a year’s time during the last reporting period, between October 2012 and September 2013. It’s situation that Wyoming County native Christy Salters Martin is all too familiar with.

The six-time World Boxing Council Champion found herself fighting for her life after her former husband and manager tried to kill her. The former boxer is now sharing her story with the hopes of helping other victims.

Wyoming County is instituting an adult drug court program aimed at stemming abuse.

The Register-Herald reports that the new program is expected to be operational July 1.

Officials say the program is designed to reduce criminal recidivism and substance abuse among "targeted offenders" through a specialized court.

During a meeting last week, U.S. Rep. Nick Rahall said drug courts are a vital tool that serve as an alternative to imprisonment and are proven to save lives as well as money.

After months without access to safe water, representatives with the Department of Health and Human Resources say the boil water advisory has been lifted in a Wyoming County community.

Folks in Alpoca/Bud including Herndon Consolidated School have been on a boil water advisory since September 2013 with water running a dark brown at times. The boil water advisory was issued because of the color and because the system did not have a certified water operator.

The West Virginia Public Service Commission is just days away from issuing a final order that is expected to bring some folks in Wyoming County closer to clean water. Folks in Alpoca and Bud including Herndon Consolidated School have been on a boil water advisory since September with water running a dark brown at times.

Part of the holdup has been a business deal with the current owners and the Eastern Wyoming County Public Service District.  Public Service Commission orders issued this week are helping to move the sale along.

On this West Virginia Morning, we meet a water hero.

Also, updates from the legislature on government fraud and a bill on abortions.

Visitors are also in Charleston talking about tourism, and the water spill.

Water donations from across the country have poured into Wyoming County since our original report.  The folks in Bud and Alpoca were dealing with unpotable water, running a dark brown at times, months before the chemical spill in Charleston.

The folks in a Wyoming County community were dealing with unpotable water months before the chemical spill in Charleston.

About 170 customers, around 500 people, have been on a boil water advisory since September.

On this West Virginia Morning, state legislators are striving to find ways to fix some water problems in Wyoming County.

Also, the State Senate continues to debate prescription drug legislation, and the House looks at a bill to protect employees from being fired.

Senators vote on seven bills, reject one, and also down amendments to the prescription-only pseudoephedrine bill. The House of Delegates passes a bill to expand the hours of alcohol sales at some businesses to include Sunday brunch. Senators Mike Green and Daniel Hall talk about Wyoming County's own water issues and what they're hoping to do to solve the problem.

Congressman Nick Joe Rahall is looking into the water situation in Alpoca/Bud in Wyoming County.

The long-term fix, known as the Covel project, will bring a new transmission main to serve the Bud/Alpoca area. The Eastern Wyoming Public Service District (PSD), in partnership with the Wyoming County Commission, has taken steps to repair the existing water system.

The Covel project has nearly a $5.7 million price tag, all of which – except for $125,000 – is Abandoned Mine Land (AML) funding.

Water donations from across the country are finding their way to West Virginia … still. But the Charleston area is not the only place where residents don’t feel safe to use the tap water. Residents in a community in Wyoming County have been purchasing drinking water since September.

Herndon Consolidated and residents in the surrounding communities have been buying their water for about five months. The community has been on a boil water advisory while ‘ownership issues’ are resolved and the aging water system is worked on.

A community going on five months without clean water received another donation Thursday. This time, from a group based in New Jersey.

Earlier this month, we shared a story about the community of Bud and Alpoca along with an elementary school that have been without clean water since September.

Since then, Principal Virginia Lusk says she has received several phone calls and emails from people saying they want to help.

A  truckload of water was delivered to a school in Wyoming County Monday morning. The school and several communities served by Alpoca Water Works have been without usable water for almost five months.

Last week, we brought you the story about Herndon Consolidated and the surrounding communities.

Transportation Secretary Paul Mattox talks funding and construction for roads to the Senate Committee on Transportation, the Office of Legislative Information serves as a resource for legislators and the public, Charleston businesses take a hit from the chemical leak and water outage, and unrelated to the water crisis in Kanawha County and eight other counties, Wyoming County Schools have had unusable water since September.

While hundreds of thousands of West Virginians are going on five days without water, a school in Wyoming County has not had usable water since September.

The flushing process is underway but without an upgraded system, Herndon Consolidated and those on the Alpoca Water Works lines will have to wait even longer for usable tap water.  

"It’s awful because I mean the water is brown and no one wants to wash their hands in brown water," fifth grader Martina Sizemore said.