- Feb 14 2020
JCV vs. ROCKWOOL ET AL. (PILOT CASE) Summary — On November 2, 2018 JCV filed the Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILOT) lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the PILOT arrangement...Jan 05 2020
On January 3, 2020, Jefferson County Foundation hosted a Community Forum on Rockwool at Shepherd University. The at-capacity crowd heard local scientists present their concerns regarding the Rockwool facility’s air...Dec 27 2019
On October 21st, a group of civic organizations and elected officials have filed an official complaint against Rockwool with the Danish Mediation and Complaints-Handling Institution for Responsible Business Conduct. The complaint describes...Dec 27 2019Oct 09 2019JCV vs. ROCKWOOL ET AL. (PILOT CASE) Summary — On November 2, 2018 JCV filed the Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILOT) lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the PILOT arrangement...Sep 16 2019
CHARLES TOWN, WV. Rockwool is building its factory without a valid Building Permit, because there is no valid plan for sewer service. The first rule of construction permitting: for work...Aug 25 2019
Learn and Preserve: Jefferson County Regional Water SymposiumHosted by the Rural Agricultural Defenders (RAD)September 28, 2019, 9:00 am -3:00 pm at the Clarion Inn in Harpers Ferry, WV.This single day...Aug 22 2019
Delegate John DoyleDelegate Sammi BrownDelegate Paul EspinosaSenator Patricia RuckerSenator John UngerOriginal Letter Attached to EmailTo Our State and Local Leadership, Public participation is an important and required aspect of the environmental...Aug 10 2019
CHARLES TOWN, WV. Jefferson County Vision (JCV) cheered yesterday’s Circuit Court ruling which declared the multi-million dollar Rockwool PILOT “is not an enforceable agreement.” Rockwool and its supporters have...Aug 08 2019
JCV PILOT CASE RULING RECEIVED Jefferson County Vision has just received the first of two long awaited rulings - the PILOT case. "The Court agrees with the plaintiff's contention that...Jul 23 2019
Mineral wool is made from stone melted in furnaces. Stone is not a recycled or sustainable material. It is extremely energy-intensive to produce and has high embodied energy. The manufacturing process involves on-site fuel...Jul 17 2019
Jefferson County Vision (JCV) and several residents of Charles Town filed a legal request last week in Circuit Court for an order that the City Council follow state law, accept...Jun 28 2019
Dear Jefferson County Parks and Recreation Board of Directors: When the working people of Jefferson County pay our taxes-- a basic civic duty-- we don’t get to put our name...Jun 12 2019Three hours of oral argument before Judge Hammer and a packed gallery in the historic Jefferson County Courthouse on Tuesday brought two of Jefferson County Vision’s cases related to Rockwool—a...May 19 2019
PRESS RELEASE Over 1,500 citizens of Charles Town are, again, demanding that the Charles Town City Council and Building Commission hold a hearing to accept a Protest Petition opposing the...Apr 30 2019Rockwool continues to wield the levers of government power against Jefferson County residents in the company’s quest to build a megafactory next to local schools.The latest outrage is an overreach...Apr 24 2019According to state law, Charles Town must accept the sewer bond petition.View the letter (.pdf)Apr 01 2019Rockwool is a terrible fit for our economy and our health. The plant's 213 foot smokestacks will also ruin historic views across the county. Check out this viewshed map which...Mar 26 2019
CHARLES TOWN, WV. The Public Service Commission (PSC) overruled their own staff recommendation today and declined to intervene or reconsider the Rockwool/Jefferson Utilities water line project.Rockwool announced in January that...Mar 24 2019
Download the request letter, from Dec. 2018 (.pdf)Download CTUB's Feb. 2019 response (.pdf)Mar 17 2019
CHARLES TOWN. Monday night, the City Council may consider a $16 million bond ordinance to fund a Charles Town Utility Board (CTUB) sewer plan built on faulty projections, shady budget...Mar 17 2019It's staggering to witness a board of elected officials ignore the overwhelming outcry against the plan to industrialize a school zone in Jefferson County. We, the people who have come...Mar 16 2019Our Karst geology and widespread well-water means heavy industry in Jefferson County puts our drinking water at risk. Rockwool is still working to mitigate the sinkholes on the Jefferson Orchard...Mar 11 2019March 12, 2019Dear Mr. CTUB Chairman, In anticipation of the Charles Town Utility Board Meeting on Wednesday, March 13, 2019 Jefferson County Vision reviewed the Meeting Agenda Packet posted on...Feb 26 2019February 26, 2019Secretary Austin CapertonWest Virginia Dept of Environmental Protection601 - 57th Street SECharleston, WV 25304Dear Secretary Caperton,I want to make you aware that the Charles Town Utility Board (CTUB)...Feb 24 2019Commissioner Liz McDonald Commissioner William WarrenCommissioner Mary Ellen MahoneyCommissioner Albert GlascockCommissioner Keith Veler Charles Town Building Commission101 East Washington...Feb 07 2019City of Ranson: Route 9 Infrastructure Project, IJDC Sewer Funding Application Package 11/10/17 Emails thread on Sewer Application 11/27/17 IJDC Loan Reassignment IJDC Loan Reassignment JCDA Project Administration RE Project...Jan 23 2019The Jefferson County Board of Education announced today that Gradient Corporation has withdrawn from the health study of the impact of Rockwool on nearby schools.BoE stated: “During this due diligence...Jan 19 2019
Jefferson County Vision has obtained the initial building plans (30% complete) from late March, 2018, and is sharing them with the public for review. Please take a look at fire...Jan 10 2019CHARLES TOWN, WV. In the face of Jefferson County Vision (JCV) litigation against the Jefferson County Development Authority's (JCDA) unlawful waterline plan, Rockwool is abandoning a key part of their...Dec 12 2018LAWSUIT: City of Ranson Failed to Make Required Public Notice When Rezoning for Rockwool SmokestacksCHARLES TOWN, WV. The City of Ranson failed to provide adequate public notice, as required by statute, when it modified both its zoning ordinance and zoning map to permit heavy...Nov 26 2018November 20, 2018Jefferson County Development Authorityc/o Nicolas H. Diehl, Executive Director1948 Wiltshire Road, Suite No. 4Kearneysville, WV 25430 Re: Rockwool Water ProjectDear Mr. Diehl: Please be advised that I...Oct 29 2018Rockwool is a global-scale insulation factory with 21 story smokestacks that will produce toxic emissions. The state and local government are sponsoring Rockwool with tens of millions of dollars in...Oct 27 2018Download the Statement (.pdf)STATEMENT TEXT:To: Senator ManchinFrom: Potomac Valley Audubon SocietyRe: Opposition Statement on Rockwool Plant proposed for Jefferson County, WVThe Potomac Valley Audubon Society (PVAS) has served Berkeley, Jefferson...Oct 25 2018Rockwool is grabbing $2.2 million in our tax dollars directly from the West Virginia treasury.The public didn't know about this agreement until it was provided in response to a Freedom...Oct 24 2018
Sign the petition for the removal and replacement of the members of the Jefferson County Development Authority (JCDA) (more…)Oct 14 2018From a FOIA response, Jefferson County Vision has discovered our state government is giving Rockwool $2.2 million in direct taxpayer funding. This is beyond the generous infrastructure funding and Rockwool’s...Oct 10 2018Oct 09 2018SHENANDOAH JUNCTION, WV. The West Virginia chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics released a letter yesterday challenging the proposed Rockwool insulation factory located near schools in Jefferson County.READ THE...Sep 19 2018
Rockwool threatens our Air, Schools, Water, Agriculture, Tourism, and Development. (more…)Sep 16 2018TOXIC Agriculture – Focus on farm life and all it entiles with a special section deducated to: wine production, horses, and bees. Need Lead Info Collector: ______________Sep 14 2018Sep 11 2018RESOLUTION OF JEFFERSON COUNTY HISTORIC LANDMARKS COMMISSION OPPOSING THE ROCKWOOL PLANT CONSTRUCTIONDULY ADOPTED ON SEPTEMBER 12, 2018WHEREAS, ROCKWOOL plans to build a large industrial manufacturing plant on the former Jefferson Orchard...Sep 03 2018Sep 03 2018Aug 08 2018Rockwool yesterday alleged in the media that individuals have made “threats of violence” against their employees and contractors.We strongly condemn any kind of threatening behavior, as an organization and as...Aug 08 2018PRESS CONTACT: Megan Day Hartlove, 304-886-3874 Email: mrhartlove@gmail.comAUGUST 9, 2018. Here we go again! The Spirit of Jefferson reported last night that the Jefferson County government just conducted ANOTHER closed-door...Aug 07 2018August 8, 2018Dear Rockwool Executives:Welcome to Jefferson County! If we had known you were coming to Ranson yesterday, we’d have arranged a more spirited greeting.While you are here, please explore...Jul 15 2018In March 2018, the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection produced a Fact Sheet/Preliminary Findings about the Rockwool site in Jefferson County. The Fact Sheet discloses the presence of six...May 01 2018May 2018: The approval of the vertical site plan (full engineering of the facility) will be used for the building permit application. 2018-05-07 Planning Commission - Public Agenda (site plan appoval)
Learn More...ABOUT US
Jefferson County Vision is a not-for-profit organization whose mission is to lead legal, political, and community action to support sustainable growth, without heavy industry, and to empower our citizen’s voices to ensure clean, transparent government in Jefferson County.
© 2020 Jefferson County Vision, Inc.
Jefferson County Vision is engaged in ongoing legal and legislative battles on numerous fronts—municipal, county, and state—on behalf of every resident who cares about preserving our quality of life.
How did a federally funded plan to build a sustainable community devolve so quickly into a heavy industrial facility permitted to be the second-largest emitter of VOCs in the state of WV?
The 21-story smokestacks are permitted to emit 470 tons of volatile organic compounds and 239 tons of nitrogen oxides each year. This will make the Rockwool the second-largest VOC polluter and the tenth Hazardous Fine Particulate Matter polluter in the state of WV.
