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State Public Service Commission Pushing Alpoca Water Deal

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 Monday the state PSC approved the acquisition sale of Alpoca Water Works, Inc., to the Eastern Wyoming Public Service District. Alpoca Water Works is a small local company that supplies water to about 170 customers.

The current system is old, and outdated. Still according to PSC documents, the Commission approved the Eastern Wyoming PSD borrowing $250,000 for the purchase and system modifications.

The latest order indicates that the PSC is trying to push this transition by waiving the usual next step; a 30 day public comment period.

The final order is expected within the next few days but that’s not the end of water woe’s for these small Wyoming County towns.

The Eastern Wyoming PSD is seeking the above mentioned loan from the West Virginia Infrastructure and Jobs Development Council. The funding needs to be secured before a project to either repair or replace the existing system can begin to take place.

The order also indicates that this is the second time that “the Commission approved the transfer of all the utility assets of Alpoca to the PSD”. The first approval came in 2009 but never happened due to the rate structure.

This past fall, three years and 9 months later, Alpoca Water and Eastern Wyoming petitioned the commission to reopen the case.

The deal between the Eastern Wyoming County PSD and Alpoca Water Works is expected to be completed by the end of March.

Logan County PSD does all the operation and maintenance for the Eastern Wyoming PSD. Logan PSD has worked to fix the filter, installed three flush valves, and other things to improve the quality.

The long-term fix is to hook up to Eastern Wyoming PSD which will allow the Bud/Alpoca area access to clean and reliable drinking water.

Logan County PSD does all the Operation and Maintenance for the Eastern Wyoming PSD.

Meet a W.Va. Water Hero

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. Another donation arrived at Herndon Consolidated School Tuesday, but this time it from another elementary school in northern W.Va.

January 9 a chemical spill contaminated the water source for more than 300,000 customers in West Virginia’s capitol city and the surrounding area. A state of emergency was declared, the National Guard was called in to assist with water distribution, and donations arrived from groups across the country.

Around that same time, Sarah Haymond was teaching a lesson to her 3^rd grade class at Blackshere Elementary in Marion County. Haymond decided the best way to teach about community service, was to coordinate a water drive for the folks affected by the chemical spill.

The state of emergency is still in effect for nine counties but Haymond didn’t feel the need was as great. So she began looking for other places in W.Va. with a water need and that’s when she found the town of Bud.

About 500 people have been on a boil water advisory since September and it’s not a state of emergency. The Alpoca Water Works system is dated and without an operator. The owner is working to turn the utility over to the Eastern Wyoming County PSD but it’s not a simple sale.

While it’s worked out, residents seem to be caught in the middle; purchasing water for things like drinking, laundry, and cooking for about six months.

“I showed the students in my class the pictures that I found on the internet from the sinks and the waters and they couldn’t believe it,” she said. “For little kids it’s just something they don’t think about not having water.”

The third graders collected about 65 to 70 gallons of water. The shipment arrived at Herndon Consolidated School on Tuesday. The school has served as central drop off place for donations and residents to find relief.

MacKenci Fluharty is one of several Blackshere Elementary third grade students that contributed to the Bud water drive. Listen below as she shares what she learned from the project.

FluhartyWaterHero.MP3

Listen to Mackenzie Fluharty, a W.Va. third grader, read her lessons from the water drive.

Mackenzie Fluharty (right in blue shirt) along with her class was excited to help with the water drive.

What Is Being Done to Help Folks Without Potable Water in Wyoming Co.?

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.

This past weekend an apparent power outage caused the pump to stop working at the Alpoca Water Works facility. The Mullens Opportunity Center is offering a place for folks to shower as needed. Reports indicate the water has since cleared up to the eye, but residents remain on a boil water advisory.

It appears that the need for clean water in this region won’t go away anytime soon.

The Situation

The Alpoca Water Works system is old, and outdated. Alpoca is a small locally owned company with limited resources.

The owners are working to close the sale of the company and turn it over to the Eastern Wyoming County PSD, but apparently it’s not a simple sale.

The water tank sits on property owned by NASCAR driver Greg Biffle. Greg’s brother Jeff Biffle says they were not aware that the tank was on their property.

Wyoming County court officials haven’t been able to locate documents indicating Alpoca Water Works had ever leased the land, although the tank has been there for decades.

In a phone conversation, Jeff Biffle told West Virginia Public Broadcasting that they paid $30,000 in attorney’s fees to ensure they were taking care of their responsibilities.

What’s being done to fix the water?

The Logan Public Service District has worked to fix the filter, installed three flush valves, and other things to improve the quality.

The long-term fix, known as the Covel project, will bring a new water main to serve the Bud/Alpoca area. The project has nearly a $5.7 million price tag, all of which – except for $125,000 – is Abandoned Mine Land funding.

The money comes from a tax coal companies pay that’s meant to help resolve public safety issues such as hazardous highwalls, or damaged water resulting from mining before 1977.

“We are literally a year away before that extension comes,” Sen. Mike Green said during an interview on The Legislature Today. “So our main focus now it to find a temporary water source.”

“After that we’ll look at any type of legislation or remedy … at this point we don’t have an answer for the residents of Wyoming County,” he added.

State Senators Green and Daniel Hall say they’ve reached out to several state agencies to find a fast solution like getting help from the National Guard, state Homeland Security, and the Department of Health and Human Resources.

“I’m a little disappointed in our Department of Health and Human Resources,” Green said. “Their position is that they’ve tested the water they’ve issued a boil water advisory and at that point they question whether or not they have any responsibility in that. I think they do.”

The Saddle Club out of N.C. donated 250 cases on Wed. Feb. 19, 2014. Virginia Lusk (middle) says she will continue to collect and distribute water at Herndon Consolidated School.

Green said he’s expecting an order from the state Public Service Commission that would help to remedy the situation soon.

For now, the boil water advisory continues. On Wednesday, the second donation arrived from the nonprofit organization called the Good People Fund, based in New Jersey.

Principal of Herndon Consolidated Virginia Lusk says other donations have arrived from a sorority and fraternity based at Marshall University, the UPS Foundation, and groups from North Carolina, Michigan and more.

“People from Wyoming County are very resilient and very tough and we’re taking care of ourselves,” Senator Daniel Hall said. “But it does make the community feel very good that people from outside care enough to try and send help. We are very grateful for that.”

Lusk said the school will continue and distribute the water from Herndon Consolidated School.

The Good People Fund, out of New Jersey, has donated a total of 2,000 gallons of water.

State, Federal Reps. Respond to Wyoming Co. Water Woes

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.

The money comes from a tax coal companies pay meant to help resolve public safety issues such as hazardous highwalls, or mining-impacted water resulting from mining before 1977. Such practices were established by the Surface Mining and Control Act and the creation of the Office of AML&R in 1981.

Rahall visited Herndon Consolidated School in Bud and the Pentecostal Church of God in Alpoca Friday to meet with residents and share the long term plans.

Short Term Solutions

State lawmakers are weighing in as well. Senator Mike Green is hoping to reassure folks on the Alpoca Water Works system that they are not being ignored by state government.

Green’s office sent out a release to share the work being done a state level to try and put an end to ‘bad water‘.

Last week, Senator Daniel Hall and I had a discussion with Adjutant General James Hoyer of the West Virginia National Guard regarding the water situation in the Bud/Alpoca area of Wyoming County. Last Friday, the General dispatched a water expert to the area to assess the situation and determine what help could be made available. While we await those results, I want to assure the people of Wyoming County that this issue isn't being ignored on the state level. This week I spoke with Chairman Mike Albert of the West Virginia Public Service Commission. During that conversation, Chairman Albert said that the PSC is close to issuing an order related to water service that would not only help the residents of the Bud/Alpoca areas but also Covel, Herndon, and Herndon Consolidated School. After the water problem is resolved at the source, the next step for the National Guard will be developing a process for flushing the lines because of the system's lack of hydrants. I want to stress to all of the citizens in Wyoming Counties – especially those affected by the present water issues – that you are not being ignored by your Government. "While the Charleston Water Crisis seems to be receiving the attention statewide, I will not allow your issue to be ignored. It is my hope that this issue, which has been going on for far too long, can be resolved sooner rather than later."

Customers in Bud and Alpoca, including Herndon Consolidated, have been on a boil water advisory for more than five months.

As we reported earlier this week, National Guard representatives met with Wyoming County Emergency Director Dean Meadows.

Meadows told West Virginia Public Broadcasting that, unfortunately, the residents are not experiencing an emergency.

"We don’t want to sound unsympathetic to the people of Bud," Meadows said. "We’re very sympathetic and we want them to know that we are doing all we can and I’m very appreciative of the attention that they are getting but to put them in an emergency situation where the state starts putting in water, who is going to bear that expense and where does it end when other communities are involved."

The Logan County PSD has been working to restor water quality to the system by adding chemicals to the water, installing flush valves, etc.

The West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources says Alpoca Water Works has not filed a consumer confidence report in at least three years. Every community public water supply system that serves at least 25 residences year round or has 15 service connections must prepare and distribute a CCR once each year.

A Rural Community's Water System: An Emergent Emergency

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.

Herndon Consolidated Principal Virginia Lusk showed public service officials the current condition of the water in the school last week.

Although the water is passing bacteria tests, the boil water advisory remains in effect. Students at Herndon Consolidated continue to use plastic silverware, and Alpoca and Bud residents purchase bottled drinking water and are limited to washing clothes on the days when the water is clear enough not to ruin their clothes.

“This phone rings all the time people wanting to collect water and donate water from different states far away,” Lusk said.

Lusk says since our first story aired a few weeks ago, groups across the country have reached out to help carry the financial burden that residents have carried for months.

Although most residents take pride in their ability to adapt to the situation, some are growing weary and worry about the possible health effects of bathing in brown water.

The ‘bad water’ has even caught the attention of Governor Earl Ray Tomblin. Wyoming County Emergency Service Director Dean Meadows says the National Guard visited the school last week to assess the situation. Meadows says the residents are not experiencing an emergency situation.

“We don’t want to sound unsympathetic to the people of Bud,” Meadows said. “We’re very sympathetic and we want them to know that we are doing all we can and I’m very appreciative of the attention that they are getting but to put them in an emergency situation where the state starts putting in water, who is going to bear that expense and where does it end when other communities are involved.”

In the meantime, Virginia Lusk says the school will continue to accept donations for the community until the boil water advisory is lifted. The community is encouraged to pick up water from the school.

Organization Sends Needed Water to Wyoming County Town

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.

Last week, a church from North Carolina delivered water and the latest delivery was made possible by an organization in New Jersey called The Good People Fund.

Executive Director Naomi Lesenburger says the organization sent about $700 to the local grocery store.

The money was used to buy 1,000 gallons of clean water. The water was sent to the school and is available for the residents that remain in need.

Alpoca Water Works owns the system that supplies the water but is in the process of selling. The deal is believed to have been stalled because of land ownership issues. The system sits on land purchased by Nascar driver Greg Biffle, who has not responded to requests for comment.

Logan County PSD officials say they are working to fix the problem but the system is dated and in bad shape.