"WVa Residents Rip Pesticide Facility Plan As Hearing Looms"

"CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A West Virginia logging company’s bid to establish a toxic-spewing facility in the picturesque Allegheny Mountains is drawing stiff pushback ahead of a public hearing planned for Thursday evening.

Allegheny Wood Products wants to build a fumigation facility in the Hardy County community of Baker to treat logs before they are shipped overseas. The state Department of Environmental Protection’s Division of Air Quality has said it tentatively plans to issue an air permit that would let the facility emit nearly 10 tons of the pesticide methyl bromide into the atmosphere each year.

Regulators were set to give an online presentation on the permit later Thursday evening before addressing questions from the public. A public comment period on the proposal has been extended to May 12.

In comments posted on the DEP’s website, some Hardy County residents invoked the Feb. 3 fiery train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, and other environmental disasters in asking officials to preserve their health and natural resources."

John Raby reports for the Associated Press May 4, 2023.

Source: AP, 05/05/2023