Tim Walker
AMR Reporter
At the August 27 Pocahontas County Solid Waste Authority meeting, board member David McLaughlin made a motion for SWA to sign a letter of intent to have Allegheny Disposal build a transfer station at the landfill that the SWA would operate after the landfill closes in the fall of 2026.
Jacob Meck, owner of Allegheny Disposal, had, over the past several months, made presentations to the SWA members where he offered to build a transfer station, with his construction costs being reimbursed by the SWA over time. The SWA has been under pressure from the State Solid Waste Board to put forth a plan to continue trash disposal in the county after the landfill reaches capacity and closes.
SWA Chairman David Henderson commented that the county SWA could not afford to pay Meck to build the transfer station, saying, “They want to build us a Cadillac, but we can only afford a Volkswagen.”
Following McLaughlin’s motion to sign the letter of intent, Henderson called for a second to the motion, but none was offered, so the motion died for a lack of a second.
Henderson indicated he wanted the SWA to build a less costly transfer station on its own. He, and several other members, indicated that they will approach the county commission to pay for it, and have already asked for this to be on the commission’s meeting agenda in September. Henderson also said they will have a future trash disposal plan to present to the state sometime this fall.
Also at this meeting, Beth Henry Vance, of the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection (WV DEPs) Youth Environmental Program, updated the members about some projects her organization has been involved with, including working with Nature’s Mountain Classroom, a Pocahontas County school program. She works with third graders, educating them about recycling, and with fifth graders about water pollution, aqua-tic insects and litter clean-up. Vance talked about the Youth Environmental Conference; the annual WV Recycling contest; the 2025 Educational Conference on Litter Control, which is being held on October 19 -21 at the Canaan Resort; and about the Make-it-Shine, Adopt a Highway and Adopt a Spot litter control programs.
The members voted to allow its employees to attend that Educational Conference on Litter Control at Canaan.
SWA Office Administrator Mary Clendenen announced that the SWA received a Solid Waste Management Board Grant in the amount of $6,055 which will help pay utility costs.
During his landfill update, Chris McComb talked about having several people look at the greenhouse at the landfill to discuss ways to rebuild it. One idea involves replacing it with a metal structure with roll-up plastic sheets as sides which might only cost about $8,000 to build.
The members then went into an executive session to interview a candidate for employment at the landfill.
