Wood County Story Archives - West Virginia Public Broadcasting

Flood Preps Increase Along Ohio River

Flood warnings continued on Thursday for West Virginia communities along the Ohio River. Two counties are hoping for the best, but bracing for the worst.

In Mason County, rising backwaters from the Ohio River are forcing several road closures. Jeremy Bryant, Mason County’s director of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, said all county schools are closed for the rest of the week. He said in Point Pleasant, it takes about a 50-foot Ohio River flood stage to activate flood wall gating and pumping.

“We’re right now sitting at 45 feet at Point Pleasant and just keeping an eye on the prediction,” Bryant said. “If it would rise any at all, then they’re probably going to have to activate and start looking and putting the flood walls in.”

Bryant said the Ohio River crest is not expected until Saturday. He said the county continues to monitor river levels, communicate with residents and make flood preparations, including possible evacuations.

“There will be places that are shut off, but it’s more of a shut off thing rather than an imminent danger thing,” Bryant said. “We’re making sure that people are aware and let them make their own decisions at this point. If it comes to an evacuation, we’ll deal with it at that time.”

In the Parkersburg area, Wood County 911 Emergency Service Deputy Director Dale McEwuen said some roadways are obstructed and the Red Cross is on standby.

“The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is doing a real good job of controlling the flow of the water,” McEwuen said. “That helps with the flooding purposes. And right now we don’t have any folks displaced from their homes.”

He said they are issuing constant social media alerts as Ohio River water inches toward downtown Parkersburg.

“Our flood wall in Parkersburg is down at the point,” McEwuen said.“It’s called Point Park. It has been closed and there’s water up to it. That prevents water from coming into our downtown area.”

Both counties have first responders on standby as they closely watch the rising river waters. McEwuen said it’s all about watching the numbers now.

“We’re expecting the water to start receding on Sunday,” McEwuen said. “It’s still going to climb probably another two feet between now and then. It will crest at about 41 feet on Sunday and should start receding after that.”

PFAS Concerns Loom Over Chemours Permit For Washington Works

Chemours applied in January for a permit to discharge treated wastewater from its Washington Works plant in Wood County.

The West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection is accepting public comment on a permit one group says would allow the discharge of PFAS into the Ohio River.

Chemours applied in January for a permit to discharge treated wastewater from its Washington Works plant in Wood County.

The West Virginia Rivers Coalition says this would result in the release of PFAS, or forever chemicals, into the Ohio River.

The DEP held a virtual public comment hearing on the permit on March 4. The comment period closes next week, on March 14.

In December, Chemours agreed to sample and test soil, surface water, groundwater and waste streams around the Washington Works plant for the presence of PFAS.

The plant has been in operation since 1951, and according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has manufactured products containing PFAS and has released PFAS in its operations.

According to Chris Hickey, a regional communications manager for Chemours, Washington Works is the only U.S. facility that manufactures Teflon PFA, a type of PFAS.

Teflon PFA is in high demand to make semiconductors, Hickey said, because of the federal CHIPS Act, passed by Congress and signed by President Joe Biden.

“To construct and operationalize additional PFA supply capacity, and with strong support throughout our value chain, we applied for a permit modification through the WV Department of Environmental Protection,” Hickey said. “We worked cooperatively with WV DEP through its process, which included agency evaluation of the permit application and engagement with regional EPA officials.”

In addition, Hickey said, the Washington Works makes materials used in electric vehicles and charging stations, also in high demand because of the national effort to electrify transportation.

“The world depends on our products, and we are committed to manufacturing these essential chemistries responsibly,” he said.

Chemours Will Sample For PFAS At Washington Works Site, EPA Says

The EPA says the Chemours Company will sample soil, surface water, sediment and groundwater for PFAS at its Washington Works site near Parkersburg.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has reached an agreement with a chemical company to sample for “forever chemicals” at a Wood County site.

The EPA says the Chemours Company will sample soil, surface water, sediment and groundwater for PFAS at its Washington Works site near Parkersburg.

The EPA, along with officials in Ohio and West Virginia, want to determine the extent of PFAS contamination at the site. PFAS have been produced and released there since 1951, according to the agency. The facility remains in operation.

The 1,200 acre site along the Ohio River also includes volatile organic compounds.

PFAS break down very slowly over time and have been scientifically proven to harm people and animals, the EPA says. Yet they are present in food products, water, air and soil and even in the blood of people and animals.

Products made with PFAS include firefighting foam and nonstick cookware.

Report: Predicted Ohio Valley Petrochemical Hub Never Materialized

Proposals to build two ethane cracker plants – one in Wood County, West Virginia, and another in Belmont County, Ohio – have fizzled.

A petrochemical manufacturing hub predicted six years ago in the mid-Ohio Valley didn’t materialize.

Proposals to build two ethane cracker plants – one in Wood County, West Virginia, and another in Belmont County, Ohio – have fizzled.

Cracker plants produce the building blocks of plastic products. In 2017, the chemical industry and the Trump administration predicted that the Ohio Valley, with its proximity to shale gas reserves, would become a hub for that process.

But according to a new report from the Ohio River Valley Institute, that hub never happened, nor did the 100,000 jobs it promised for the region.

Only one plant was built by Shell in Beaver County, Pennsylvania. It employs 400 to 600 people.

According to the report, competition from China and a build-out of petrochemical manufacturing on the Gulf Coast discouraged investment in the Ohio Valley hub.

Completed Legislation Includes Treatment Bed Limits, Possible School District Consolidation And Retirees Back To Work

A bill that limits the number of substance use treatment beds per West Virginia county is now headed to the governor for his signature.

House Bill 3337 passed the House after returning from the Senate amended. It limits the number of substance use disorder 28-day treatment beds to 250.

At 288, Wood County has 26 percent of the state’s treatment beds. Thirty-nine counties have zero. Del. Vernon Criss, R-Wood, said the limit is needed to counter an overwhelming influx of out-of-state patients who he says abuse a system meant for West Virginians.

“We are recruiting people from Idaho, Montana and Colorado. They’re coming to West Virginia, they are coming to Parkersburg. They’re coming to take those beds,” Criss said. “If they took their treatments, and did what they said they were going to do to get better, that’s all fine and well, and they become productive citizens again. But they didn’t do that. They got into the program, they quit the program and became problems for the city of Parkersburg and for the county of Wood.”

Del. Mike Pushkin, D-Kanawha, was one of several who opposed the bill. Pushkin said treatment bed numbers should be based on a county’s need – not an artificial number.

“At some point that might be more than 250 in some counties, but a lot of counties, that won’t be 250. But when you cap it, once again, you’re increasing the value of the license and those licenses will be sold,” Pushkin said. “I think that there are a lot of issues the state’s facing – whether it’s homelessness, petty crime. I personally think that, that will go on if you have less treatment options.”

The bill passed 76 to 19 and is effective from passage; it goes to the governor’s desk for a signature.

The House also passed Senate Bill 99, which establishes procedures for potential consolidation of school districts. Legislators raised concerns about the possible loss of employment, and severance pay with potential consolidation. Neither issue was addressed in the bill.

And they passed House Bill 2917, which allows retired state employees who meet the minimum qualifications necessary to go back to work for the Department of Health and Human Resources. The department faces continued employee recruitment challenges and several state departments are working to bring back retirees.

September 2, 1907: Judge John Jay Jackson, Jr. Dies at 83

Judge John Jay Jackson Jr. died on September 2, 1907, at age 83. His long career on the bench and in politics stretched from the West Virginia statehood movement to the early years of the mine wars.

The Wood County native served as a Whig in the Virginia General Assembly in the early 1850s. As the nation was tearing apart just before the Civil War, Jackson stood steadfast for the Union. In return, Abraham Lincoln appointed him a federal district judge. Jackson’s court became an important symbol of federal power in northwestern Virginia and later West Virginia. Some Republicans criticized Jackson’s court decisions for being too lenient on Southern sympathizers, but he retained President Lincoln’s confidence. In 1870, commissioners appointed by Jackson to supervise West Virginia elections opened the vote to ex-Confederates, leading to Democratic control of the state.

In his later years, Judge Jackson became an enemy of the state’s fledgling labor movement. His famous injunctions against Eugene V. Debs, “Mother” Jones, and others stymied union organizing efforts. At the time of his retirement in 1905, he’d served 44 years, longer than any other federal judge.