West Virginia agencies have approved funding of more than $27 million for the Pocahontas Public Service District (PSD) to build a state-of-the-art wastewater plant and collection system for the Snowshoe area. The West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection approved an $11 million, zero-percent interest loan through the Clean Water State Revolving Fund. The loan will carry a one-half percent administrative fee and be repaid over 38 years. The West Virginia Infrastructure and Jobs Development Council approved a $16.1 million loan for the project. The loan will carry one-percent interest and be repaid over 40 years. A centralized wastewater plant will be built on Snowshoe Drive north of Linwood. The plant will have a capacity of 550,000 gallons per day, average daily flow, and incorporate membrane biological reactors, which produce extremely clean effluent water. The system will serve the Snowshoe, Linwood and Hawthorne Valley areas. Waste Water Management, Inc. (WWMI), a Fairfax, Virginia firm, designed the wastewater system for the PSD. WWMI will be paid $4 million for project planning, preliminary engineering and final engineering. The engineering cost is approximately 18 percent of the total project cost. The West Virginia Public Service Commission has determined that those costs are not excessive, considering the complexity and scope of the project. The base rate for a PSD wastewater customer in the Snowshoe area will be approximately $63.69 per month for 4,000 gallons of water used. The PSC has not issued a Certificate of Convenience and Necessity for the project. If the project is approved by the PSC, construction could begin as early as this fall.
