By Luanne McGovern, West Virginia Highlands Conservancy

Just over two months have passed since a small legal notice was published in The Parsons Advocate. It stated that an unknown company called Fundamental Data was seeking to obtain an air permit for a facility called Ridgeline, just outside the towns of Davis and Thomas. Through a concerted grassroots effort called Tucker United, hundreds of people have come together to fight back against what has been revealed to be a massive natural gas and diesel fueled power plant and data center. 

Information on Fundamental Data and their project was extremely limited at first, and there has been little progress towards determining the true scope of this project. We know that they are proposing massive power plant that will supply electricity to a data center complex.  

We know little or nothing about the company Fundamental Data or who is behind this multi-million dollar project. We are aware that the emissions, noise, and light from the power plant will be detrimental to the local environment. Still, we cannot quantify the impact due to the high level of redaction in the permit application. We know that large quantities of water will be required for the complex, but we do not know where they will obtain this water or what the potential impact on the local aquifer and town water supplies. 

In the face of all this secrecy and uncertainty, Tucker United has rallied a determined group of individuals to rise in opposition to this potentially devastating situation. Over 2,000 people have signed a petition to Governor Morrissey asking him to veto HB2014, the new law that will enable the construction of these microgrid power plants. Hundreds of individuals have sent comments to the West Virginia Department of Air Quality on the permit application, pointing out significant issues and concerns. Multiple committees have been formed to address the environmental, social, and legal aspects of the project. Hundreds of comments have been sent to elected officials and agency leaders, asking them to reject the permit application. Two Facebook groups have been established to facilitate the flow of information and have attracted almost 700 followers. Thirteen Purple Air Monitors have been installed across Tucker County to obtain baseline air quality data. 

There has been an outpouring of local and national media attention to the Tucker County situation. Locally, there has been extensive coverage from Country Roads News, The Parsons Advocate, the Charleston Gazette-Mail, the Dominion Post, WV Watch, 100 Days in Appalachia, WBOY, WVVA and MetroNews. National attention has been garnered through an excellent article in the Wall Street Journal and a segment on NPR’s Sunday Morning radio broadcast. Even Fox Business “The Bottom Line” hosted an extremely favorable feature segment, interviewing Mayor Al Tomson and Tucker Unted spokesperson Nikki Forrester.  

It is hoped that more and repeated media attention will uncover additional information and put pressure on the company and government officials to stop this project. On May 31, the Davis Town Council voted 5-0 to oppose the Fundamental Data project, a first step in getting local government to take a public position. 

Unfortunately, it is still highly likely that the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection Division of Air Quality will issue a preliminary air permit to Fundamental Data in the coming weeks. That will start another 30-day comment period and include the scheduling of a public meeting in Davis. The West Virginia Highlands Conservancy will keep you updated on next steps through social media and our action alerts. It is promising to be a long and costly fight, but the future of beautiful Tucker County and the Highlands is at stake.