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It is try, try again for a Glenville company that wants to open a stone quarry in a
pristine area of West Virginia's mountains.
Waco Oil and Gas of Glenville wants a judge to declare a section of West Virginia's
quarry law to be unconstitutional. The company says the language to allow state
regulators to block quarries that could destroy "aesthetic values" is too vague and
unconstitutional.
The hearing was before a Kanawha County judge yesterday.
President I.L. Morris wants a judge to overturn the denial of Waco's application to
open a sandstone quarry in a scenic section of Pocahontas County.
"This permit decision was in the eye of the beholder. That statute is so vague that
neither Waco nor other people who apply for quarry permits can know what to do to
meet it," according to Waco's attorney.
The state Department of Environmental Protection has rejected Waco's application
for a 76-acre quarry permit along WV 39 near Huntersville, saying "aesthetic
values, recreational use, and future use of the area and surrounding areas in this
especially scenic and tourist-oriented area."
A DEP lawyer, Tom Clarke, testified that the quarry would seriously harm
Pocahontas County's growing tourism economy. Local residents complained the
project would harm Knapps Creek, a popular trout stream and the town of
Marlinton's water source. Protesters said it would be an eyesore in the Browns
Mountain area along WV 39.
A large number of Pocahontas citizens have protested the operation.
"Waco's operation would be a pig in a parlor," Clarke said, indicating problems with
dust, blasting and a visible scar on the earth.
Clark said "If you want to put a quarry between two chemical plants in Institute or
next to a slag pile at a steel mill in Weirton, it's not the same as putting one in a
pristine area of Pocahontas County."
Waco's attorney there appeared to be little that Waco could have done to satisfy
DEP and obtain a permit.
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