URGENT ACTION NEEDED!
The majority of this action alert is about 4K Industrial Park's facility proposed for Martins Ferry, OH. Scroll to bottom for info. on the Deep Rock Facility proposed for Marietta, OH.
Concerned Ohio River Residents recently found out that while we are dealing with a pandemic health crisis, a company named 4K Industrial Park LLC wants to build a docking facility for barges transporting Oil & Gas waste in Martins Ferry, OH. This means that radioactive Gas & Oil waste could be shipped along the Ohio River- a drinking water source for 5 million people. The proposed barge dock would be a conduit for tons of radioactive oil and gas wastewater to travel on the Ohio River and into a facility that already has environmental problems. This would also mean that Belmont County could become even more of a dumping ground for the industry's waste. There are currently 6 additional injection wells planned for the county, and now the industry wants to ship this radioactive, chemical-laden waste in from unknown locations to be reused in the drilling process or disposed of in injection wells and landfills. CLICK HERE to see the Public Notice and CLICK HERE to see the facility's application CLICK HERE to see the map of the proposed facility.
We need a public hearing on this facility at the very least! It only takes a moment to submit a hearing requests and public comments. Please read on to find out how.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) is in charge of approving the permit. We must submit a public hearing request no later than April 30th, 2020 for USACE to consider holding a hearing. The most important thing to do right now is get your public hearing request in. Also, please submit comments along with your hearing request. HERE is a list of general comments to pick from to submit to USACE along with your hearing request. These include negative impacts to air, the economy, potential radioactive spills and leaks, concerns about traffic, flooding, quality of life, freshwater life, etc. Right now, USACE is conducting its Public Interest Review of this application, and it will issue a permit unless it finds that this facility is not within the public interest. If this project is found to not be within the public interest, it might not be permitted to operate. This is our chance to give them evidence and information for why this is not within the public's interest. HERE are the specific items the agency must look at when completing a Public Interest Review.
The Public Notice does not acknowledge these impacts. This is why a hearing is necessary. The public needs to be able to provide input on these impacts as well as ask important questions.
How to submit a hearing request:
All you have to do is copy/paste this letter (<-click text to see letter) into an email and email it to the following people at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers:
tyler.j.bintrim@usace.army.mil and george.r.brkovich@usace.army.mil
Please also CC the e-mail to the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) for their review as well. They deal with monitoring what is actually on the barges. Their email is: william.w.russell@uscg.mil
Make sure subject line says: Request for Public Hearing; CELRP-RG-2020-78
Change the date and enter your name/group's name at the bottom.
Customize the letter by adding your personal comments/concerns or copy/pasting some comments from this document.
Please BCC ConcernedOhioRiverResidents@yahoo.com in the email when sending so we know how many requests were sent.
Send this ASAP as the deadline is the end of April!
In the sample letter you will see that we requested that it be held when public gatherings are again possible. We need a public hearing on this when people can actually attend and be heard adequately.
If you have any questions about this please don't hesitate to reach out!
Phone: (740) 738-3124, E-mail: ConcernedOhioRiverResidents@yahoo.com
HERE is more information about the Deep Rock Facility proposed for Marietta, OH. HERE is a draft letter to send about the facility. Please send hearing requests and comments to kayla.n.adkins@usace.army.mil and william.w.russell@uscg.mil
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