State environmental regulators say the highest-risk aboveground storage tanks could face a $375 annual fee in a law to protect water supplies.
Department of Environmental Protection Secretary Randy Huffman made the comments to a state Senate budget panel Monday. The fees aren’t finalized.
Out of more than 48,000 tanks registered under the law, Huffman said almost 3,800 near a water supply and 3,700 others considered high-risk could face the $375 annual per-tank fee.
Huffman said about 37,000 tanks that aren’t as risky could have to pay a $61 annual fee.
He said about 3,700 tanks containing substances like water and food products wouldn’t have to pay fees.
The law requiring inspections and registrations responds to a chemical spill that spurred a tap-water ban for 300,000 people last January.
Housing facilities across West Virginia will receive a total of $6,749,574 under the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Continuum of Care (CoC) Program for projects with the goal of ending homelessness. The funding was announced Monday by U.S. Senator Joe Manchin’s office.
“In West Virginia, we understand the importance of helping those who have fallen on hard times,” Senator Manchin said in a news release.
“These funds will help care for those who are struggling, including seniors, children and veterans, and it will ensure they have a roof over their heads and access to the support they need to get back on their feet. Because of this funding, West Virginians in need will also have the opportunity to develop specific skillsets to help them return to the workforce, provide for themselves and their families, and contribute to our communities.”
According to a news release issued Monday, the Continuum of Care (CoC) Program is designed to promote communitywide commitment to the goal of ending homelessness by providing funding to organizations and State and local governments to quickly rehouse homeless individuals and families and improve self-sufficiency among individuals and families experiencing homelessness.
The following housing facilities/projects were awarded grants:
Bartlett House, Inc./West Run Permanent Supportive Housing – $109,918
Cabell-Huntington Coalition for the Homeless, Inc./CHW CoC Planning – $13,713
Cabell-Huntington Coalition for the Homeless, Inc./Housing First (SSO) – $107,595
Cabell-Huntington Coalition for the Homeless, Inc./Project Hope – $208,175
Cabell-Huntington Coalition for the Homeless, Inc./Safe Quarters – $127,066
Caritas House/Colligo House Renewal – $134,820
Charleston-Kanawha Housing Authority/Shelter Plus Care 1 – $115,946
Charleston-Kanawha Housing Authority/Shelter Plus Care 2 – $124,205
City of Charleston/KVC Collaborative Supportive Services – $91,713
Clarksburg Housing Authority/PSH-1 – $175,301
Clarksburg Housing – $195,410
Community Action of South Eastern West Virginia/CASE Kennedy/Hinton Centers 15-16 –$52,710
Community Action of South Eastern West Virginia/CASE Preston Place 15-16 – $41,091
Community Networks, Inc./BCLP – $81,456
Community Networks, Inc./JCLP – $242,880
Covenant House, Inc./Housing First I – $67,105
Covenant House, Inc./Housing First II – $90,058
Covenant House, Inc./Housing First III – $73,891
Covenant House, Inc./Housing First IV – $43,586
Covenant House, Inc./Housing First V – $44,862
Greater Wheeling Coalition for the Homeless/FY 2014 WV-500 HMIS – $11,200
Greater Wheeling Coalition for the Homeless/FY 2014 WV-500 Planning Grant – $7,557
Greater Wheeling Coalition for the Homeless/FY 2014 WV-500 RH – $257,698
Greater Wheeling Coalition for the Homeless/FY 2014 WV-500 SSO – $135,796
Greater Wheeling Coalition for the Homeless/FY 2014 WV-500 TH – $25,273
Greenbrier County Housing Authority/Greenbrier Rapid Rehousing – $134,783
Greenbrier County Housing Authority/Permanent Supportive Housing Expansion – $49,553
Greenbrier County Housing Authority/Permanent Supportive Housing Family – $46,268
Greenbrier County Housing Authority/Renewal PSH2014 – $158,858
Housing Authority of Mingo County/CAREWOOD – $67,269
Huntington West Virginia Housing Authority/HMIS Expansion Renewal 2014 – $34,853
Huntington West Virginia Housing Authority/Shelter Plus Care Renewal Project #10 – $26,542
Huntington West Virginia Housing Authority/ Shelter Plus Care Renewal Project #11 – $26,669
Huntington West Virginia Housing Authority/ Shelter Plus Care Renewal Project #2 – $369,632
Huntington West Virginia Housing Authority/ Shelter Plus Care Renewal Project #21 – $65,271
Huntington West Virginia Housing Authority/ Shelter Plus Care Renewal Project #3 – $319,606
Huntington West Virginia Housing Authority/ Shelter Plus Care Renewal Project #5 – $66,673
Huntington West Virginia Housing Authority/ Shelter Plus Care Renewal Project #6 – $74,997
Huntington West Virginia Housing Authority/ Shelter Plus Care Renewal Project #7 – $66,673
Huntington West Virginia Housing Authority/ Shelter Plus Care Renewal Project #8 – $120,011
Huntington West Virginia Housing Authority/ Shelter Plus Care Renewal Project #9 – $33,177
Huntington West Virginia Housing Authority/Shelter Plus Care TRA #11 – $77,502
Huntington West Virginia Housing Authority/Shelter Plus Care TRA #22 – $48,879
Integrated Community Services of Parkersburg Inc. – $114,050
Kanawha Valley Collective, Inc./Homeless Management Information System – $63,999
Kanawha Valley Collective, Inc./KVC Planning Project – $16,816
Logan-Mingo Area Mental Health, Inc./LMAMH Permanent Supportive Housing – $83,425
Mid-Ohio Valley Fellowship Home, Inc./MOVFH Women’s Recovery House – $10,025
North Central WV Community Action, Inc./North Central WV Community Action Agency, Inc. SHP Permanent Project – $53,544
North Central WV Community Action, Inc./North Central WV Community Action Association, Inc. SHP Transitional Program – $28,765
Companies have bid millions of dollars to drill for oil and natural gas beneath several state-owned lands in West Virginia.
On Friday, the state Department of Commerce opened bids for Marcellus shale fracking under several tracts of land.
Antero ResourceFish s bid about $8,100 per acre, or $2.3 million total, for mineral rights under Jug Wildlife Management Area in Tyler County. Jay-Bee Production Company bid between $5,000 and about $16,300 per acre for different parts of the same land.
Noble Energy bid about $5,100 per acre, or $685,000 total, to drill under Fish Creek and adjacent land in Marshall County.
StatOil USA Onshore Properties Inc. bid $9,000 per acre to drill under part of the Ohio River in Wetzel County.
The state requires an additional 20 percent royalty on what’s extracted.
The Fayette County Board of Education is seeking state approval to inspect all of the district’s school buildings.
The request comes in the wake of the Jan. 12 closure of Collins Middle School’s main building because of safety concerns. A month earlier, a building housing the school’s gym and a school-based health clinic was closed.
Board members agreed on Friday to send a letter to the West Virginia Department of Education requesting approval of comprehensive structural inspections and air quality inspections.
The school system has been under the state’s control since 2010.
Human trafficking (labor and sex) is becoming more and more of a problem in West Virginia according to law enforcement officials. A forum to educate communities throughout the state is ongoing, and legislation to improve state laws was also just introduced (HB 2161).
A third forum will be held at 6 p.m. this evening at WVU Parkersburg, featuring U-S Attorney for the Southern District of West Virginia, Booth Goodwin.
A Growing Problem
U.S. District Attorney William J. Ihlenfeld II was among panelists who recently met in Morgantown. He said human trafficking deserves everyone’s attention. It might not seem likely in the small state of West Virginia but Ihlenfeld said human trafficking is a growing problem in our region just as it is across the country.
“What we’re seeing are handlers based in other parts of the country who come through West Virginia, through our truck stops, hotels and other parts of this state,” Ihlenfeld said.
Ihlenfeld also said:
Many drug-traffickers look to increase profits by expanding into human trafficking.
In the northern gas fields, the increase in transient workers often means increased demand for prostitution.
Spotting Victims
It’s not only foreign nationals who are caught up in the trade — Ihlenfeld said that’s a common misconception. Runaways and homeless kids often find themselves trapped in different parts of the country having been promised work, drugs, or love, Ihlenfeld said.
While law enforcement does plan and execute trafficking stings through the internet sites that harbor illegal interactions, eyes in communities are also critical to help their efforts. Signs to notice might include:
Someone who is malnourished, or in poor health
Someone who won’t look you in the eye, or is highly anxious
Someone seems unable to make decisions for themselves
Someone completely reliant on someone else
Someone who says they are visiting, but doesn’t know where they are
Ihlenfeld said when one or more of these kinds of observations start knocking at your gut, it’s time to call it in to the national 24/7 human trafficking hotline: 1-888-3737-888.
Before calling, it’s important to note as many details as you can:
descriptions of possible victims or perpetrators
license plate numbers
location
suspicious behavior
The series of discussions was initiated by the Sisters of Saint Joseph. Fighting human trafficking is a cause the Wheeling-based Catholic religious community is dedicated to.
The Army Reserve’s 363rd Military Police Company is headquartered in Grafton, West Virginia. This April, about 25 of the soldiers are heading to Afghanistan. Their mission will be protecting the life of a high-ranking U.S. officer. It’s called a personal security detail.
“We protect them in every aspect,” explained Specialist Jakob Mays. “We eat with them, we sleep when they sleep. We make sure that wherever they’re going—whether by land or by air—is safe, both before we get there and before we leave. We are their security.”
Mays said before he joined the Army reserves, he was a military policeman in the Marines for four years. Now he’s a customer service representative at a car dealership. His friend, Spc. Tyler Foster, will be on his first deployment, and is glad Mays is on the team.
“He really knows his stuff,” said Foster. “That’s what I like.”
Foster is an Elkin’s police officer in his civilian life. Military police are trained to diffuse tense situations before they get out of hand. Foster’s experience as a full-time civilian police officer make him a valuable asset to the team.
“Dealing with civilians every day, it helps out a lot,” Foster said, “because I already know what’s going on, the right questions to ask, what all stuff you need to know to make the situation better.”
Credit Chip Hitchcock
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Staff Sgt. Aaron Allen (on the far left) tells his soldiers what it will be like to protect a high-ranking officer in Afghanistan.
Experience is also why the Army has brought in Staff Sgt. Aaron Allen from Easton, Pennsylvania. He will be the non-commissioned officer in charge of the detail. He told his soldiers about his previous deployment as a team leader protecting a high-ranking officer.
“We had a ball our last tour,” said Allen, “When we weren’t moving the boss, we did a lot of recons. Me and Sgt. Johnson probably know Kabul better than anybody I’ve met. Who has been to Afghanistan?”
Only two of the West Virginia soldiers raised their hands. To keep the energy up, Allen teased his soldiers about who had passed the difficult driving class and who had wrecked. But he also gave them serious information about their tasks:
“We’ll probably split the team into two,” said Allen. “We’ll have a team for main body movement and a team for advances. Your advances, you go out ahead of the main body. You coordinate with whoever the boss is meeting with, making sure things are good to go. Advances are fun.”
Spc. Shane Delong is originally from Ohio. He moved to West Virginia when he was in middle school to live with his grandmother who was working at the FBI complex in Clarksburg.
“I like it here – slower pace and more relaxed,” said Delong. “I tried working in a steel factory in Ohio but it doesn’t feel like home.”
Delong is married now and has a six-year old daughter. I asked him if he thought he might be deployed when he joined up.
“Yes, it was always in my head that I could go,” Delong said. “I’m excited. No one is excited about leaving their wife and kid, but they do support it.”
Most of the soldiers have been – or are about to go – to Personal Security Detail school for military police. During the next two months they’ll practice those skills while learning to trust one another in tense situations. Then in April, it’s time for Afghanistan.
