Energy & Environment Story Archives - Page 48 of 357 - West Virginia Public Broadcasting

Dementia And The Holidays And WVU Project Includes Students In Acid Rain Research, This West Virginia Morning

On this West Virginia Morning, we learn how a project at WVU studying the environmental effects of acid rain in the Fernow Experimental Forest in Tucker County is inviting local students to participate, and we explore ideas for including loved ones with dementia into holiday celebrations.

On this West Virginia Morning, West Virginia University (WVU) scientists since 1989 have been studying the environmental effects of acid rain in the Fernow Experimental Forest in Tucker County. COVID-19 pandemic restrictions forced the long-term experiment to change in recent years, and researchers are now inviting local students to take part in the project’s next phase. Chris Schulz sat down with WVU biology professor Edward Brzostek to discuss the changes.

Also, in this show, the holidays can be a stressful time, but dementia can make that even more difficult. For his series, “Getting Into Their Reality: Caring For Aging Parents,” News Director Eric Douglas spoke with Teresa Morris, program director for the West Virginia chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association, to get some ideas for families who are working to include someone with dementia into their celebrations.

West Virginia Morning is a production of West Virginia Public Broadcasting which is solely responsible for its content.

Support for our news bureaus comes from Shepherd University.

Caroline MacGregor produced this episode.

Listen to West Virginia Morning weekdays at 7:43 a.m. on WVPB Radio or subscribe to the podcast and never miss an episode. #WVMorning

Deer Tests Positive For Rabies In Hampshire County

With archery and crossbow season underway across the state, officials with the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources remind hunters that all mammals, including white-tailed deer, are vulnerable to rabies.

A free roaming white-tailed deer has tested positive for rabies in Hampshire County.

The Hampshire County Health Department said on its Facebook page that it was notified about the deer by the West Virginia Department of Agriculture.

The county’s first confirmed case this year indicates that more animals are likely infected with the disease.

Hunters are advised to take precautions to prevent contracting the disease and immediately report suspected cases to the DNR.

Firearm deer hunting season in West Virginia begins on Nov. 20.

Thousands Of Acres Burn As Dry Weather Continues

Seventy-five fires have set an estimated 16,000 acres, or 25 square miles ablaze statewide, Gov. Jim Justice said in Wednesday’s briefing.

Many of the fires are in the southern region of the state.

According to the National Weather Service, improperly extinguished leaf burns that grew out of control caused many of the fires. The National Weather Service said the warmer sunny weather and dry conditions have exacerbated the fires. Justice warned residents to take special caution due to the weather patterns.

“It has been incredibly dry the last 30 days. So with all that being said, please, please, please be careful,” Justice said. “You know, the fall fire season is in effect until Dec. 31. It’s essential to all West Virginians to be aware of, and to follow, the necessary regulations to prevent wildfires, because it can get really bad, really bad.”

According to the National Weather Service, a wet front is expected to move in Thursday or Friday, which will curb fire growth. However, until precipitation begins, the land is susceptible to fire and any burning should be practiced with caution, Justice said.

“It’s so simple just, you know, burning trash or whatever in your backyard. And all of a sudden, you know, a spark gets loose, and it goes into a back woodlot,” Justice said.

Trash burning is illegal in West Virginia. Leaf burns are permitted from 5 p.m. to 7 a.m. and must be properly extinguished.

Failing Boone-Raleigh Sewage District Taken Over, Rate Hikes On The Way

West Virginia American Water (WVAW) completed its acquisition of Boone-Raleigh public service district’s sewage Wednesday. The 380 customers served by the utility will have a change in their billing as well. Under WVAW, the average customer using 3,400 gallons of water a month will be paying around $6 more for sewage.

West Virginia American Water (WVAW) completed its acquisition of Boone-Raleigh public service district’s sewage Wednesday.

The acquisition comes after the Boone-Raleigh sewage utility was deemed to be a failing wastewater system by the Public Service Commision (PSC) and owed $1.2 million in debt. The PSC looked to WVAW to take over the utility because it was close by and had the capacity to take over.

Government and External Affairs Manager Megan Hannah said West Virginia American Water began metering water Wednesday morning.

“Boone-Raleigh read their meters for the last time, so customers will receive a final bill from Boone-Raleigh Public Service District in the month of November,” Hannah said. “Starting today, those customers will have a meter read from West Virginia American Water, and they will receive their first bill from us in December.”

Hannah said WVAW has plans to invest hundreds of thousands of dollars into the sewage system to bring it up to state standards.

“Certainly, with any transition, we know that there could be some hiccups. So, we have communicated with our customers that we appreciate their patience as we go through this transition process,” she said.

The 380 customers served by this utility will have a change in their billing as well. Under WVAW, the average customer using 3,400 gallons of water a month will be paying around $6 more for sewage.

Currently WVAW is waiting for a decision from the PSC that would increase its customers’ bills for water and sewage. If approved by the PSC residents in the Boone-Raleigh public service district would see an increase of around $27 for the average user, from what they were paying before the acquisition.

However the PSC is also considering an income-based program that would issue discounts to low-income utility users on a sliding scale. This, if approved, would be a stackable discount with the existing 20 percent off that is applied to utility users who receive assistance from Department of Health and Human Resources programs.

“We do want to be cognizant of the fact that our customers are feeling the pressure everywhere when it comes to the prices that they’re paying,” Hannah said. “So, we have proposed this low-income discount program to the Public Service Commission as part of our rate case, which will essentially follow federal poverty guidelines. So based on household income.”

Next Phase In Federal Trial Will Determine Penalties For Union Carbide

The maximum penalty Union Carbide would pay for violating the Clean Water Act at a landfill it owns in South Charleston: $64,618 per violation per day.

A five year federal court case involving Union Carbide is moving into the next phase, and the company could have to pay pay a steep civil penalty.

The maximum penalty Union Carbide would pay for violating the Clean Water Act at a landfill it owns in South Charleston: $64,618 per violation per day.

In late September, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia ruled that the company has been in violation of the federal law since 2015. A landfill that discharges stormwater into navigable U.S. waterways must seek a permit under the Clean Water Act.

Union Carbide sought no such permit for the Filmont Landfill. The site is adjacent to Davis Creek, a tributary of the Kanawha River.

Union Carbide operated the landfill for about 30 years, but its existence wasn’t widely known until a 2018 lawsuit in federal court in Charleston.

The court also determined the Filmont Landfill was an illegal open dump under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act. Union Carbide and Courtland Co., the plaintiff in the case, may both have to pay costs related to the cleanup of the site. Courtland’s South Charleston property is adjacent to Union Carbide’s.

The court will ultimately determine what penalty Union Carbide will pay, but added together, one violation over eight years could cost more than $188 million.

Union Carbide and Courtland will bring in expert witnesses to determine how many of those days Union Carbide was in violation.

Courtland has requested that the penalty phase of the trial take place in April 2024. The trial will determine other costs, including legal fees.

Union Carbide is a subsidiary of Dow Chemical.

Warm Sunny Days, Leaf Burns Cause Smokey Skies

An estimated 20 wildfires, mostly in the southern region of the state, have caused the hazy smoky air that many are experiencing this Monday.

John Peck, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service, said he believes most of the fires are from a combination of weather patterns and human causes.

“We’ve had very dry conditions over the last six days with no measurable rain across most of West Virginia,” Peck said. “That’s allowed the leaves to dry out quite a bit. So, a combination of mostly human causes starts the problem with people burning leaves legally at night,”

In W.Va. it is legal to burn leaves from 5 p.m. to 7 a.m. However, if the fires are not distinguished properly, the leaves can reignite when the sun comes up and become larger uncontained fires. This is what Peck believes caused today’s fires and is common in the drier months of the fall.

“The important thing is that if you are burning legally at night, you need to make sure that’s completely out. And make sure it isn’t rekindled during the day,” Peck said.

These local fires are less likely to disturb residents’ airways and allergies than smoke that had traveled from further distances, like the Canadian wildfires this summer, he said.

“With the smoke being so local, the particle size is relatively big. It’s not like the really small stuff that gets down here from the distant wildfires,” Peck said. “So, if (residents) go outside and they are feeling an issue, just masking up will help take care of quite a bit of that”

The National Weather Service is expecting at least a few more days of dry, seasonally-warm weather, with rain expected to begin Thursday or Friday.

“We generally expect these kinds of nuisance fires to keep going for the next few days with relatively smoky air,” Peck Said.

Winds moving in through the week will help keep the smoke from accumulating and becoming denser throughout the week. As new weather fronts move in they will help mix up the smoke, Peck said.

“It’s just going to be the fires upstream of you. The winds, the smokes pooling down wind and it’s spilling into your face, basically. But it’s not going to accumulate. It’s just going to be stuff that’s being produced at the current time,” Peck said.

The Kanawha County Commission has requested the Division of Forest Management to issue a burn ban.

“We have grave concerns that additional forest fires will occur,” said the request signed by Commissioners Ben Salango, Kent Carber, and Lance Wheeler. “State Code prohibits outdoor burning from Oct. 1 through December 31 from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. However, we believe an additional ban should be enforced.”