Ohio County

After hitting a few rough patches with Wheeling, WV Planning Commission, GreenHunter Water finally received a green light to proceed with a frack wastewater recycling facility in Wheeling, along the shore of the Ohio River. Even though one Planning Commission member, Gloria Delbrugge, keeps a firmly closed mind about the facility (see Wheeling Councilwoman Will Shun GreenHunter Ribbon Cutting). Anti-drillers often have closed minds. All seemed fine with the Commission’s approval in hand and GreenHunter was on track to open the facility by the end of last year. But it still hasn’t happened. Why?

The main reason is that they’re still waiting on permission from the Coast Guard to move frack waste water by barge down the Ohio to points where GreenHunter owns some injection wells where they plan to dispose of some of the wastewater (see Coast Guard Wants Frack Wastewater Barges Tested – Every Load). There’s also the matter of receiving permits for trucks entering and exiting the facility (see GreenHunter’s Wheeling Frack Wastewater Facility Hits a Snag). And they’ll permits for the barges when/if the Coast Guard finally approves the barging plan. Oy vey! Regardless, GreenHunter remains laser focused on the Marcellus/Utica and is committed to bringing this (and other) facilities online. Here’s an update:
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Is there a connection between the recent chemical leak in West Virginia that cut off water for 300,000 people–a leak related the coal industry–and GreenHunter Water’s plans for a frack wastewater recycling plant in Wheeling, WV? Perhaps. No, GreenHunter had nothing to do with the chemical spill that made national headlines for weeks (see Coal Industry Blamed for West Virginia Chemical Spill). But because GreenHunter plans to store fracking wastewater in tanks above ground “mere yards from the Ohio River” as one article says, they are now coming under increased scrutiny. One might say they’re now under a microscope.

MDN has covered the long road for GreenHunter in establishing the Wheeling wastewater recycling facility (see these MDN articles). Just when it appeared that the path was clear–and that even the U.S. Coast Guard would finally grant GreenHunter permission to barge frack wastewater from the Wheeling facility–the coal-related chemical spill happened, which may end up adversely affecting the GreenHunter project…
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Wheeling, WV City Councilwoman Gloria Delbrugge is a sore loser. Sounding like a petulant child, she says she won’t attend a ribbon-cutting ceremony for GreenHunter Water as they begin to demolish old buildings and build new buildings for a frack wastewater recycling facility in Wheeling. MDN told you in March that Delbrugge vowed to stop the plant from coming to Wheeling (see Wheeling Councilwoman Vows to Prevent Frack Water Treatment Plant). When she calmed down a bit, it seemed as though she had softened her opposition (see Wheeling Councilwoman Softens Stand Against Frack Wastewater Plant).

But, true to form for most anti-drillers, the facts make no difference. Delbrugge says she doesn’t like ’em (GreenHunter), she doesn’t want ’em, and she doesn’t trust ’em. And so when the ribbon is cut in the next few weeks, Gloria will not regale them with her eminent presence…
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