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 to proceed, a site must have a plan for utility service. That’s the principle of law that non-profit group Jefferson County Vision (JCV) and Ranson resident Henry Goldstein are seeking to uphold a lawsuit filed today against the City of Ranson in Circuit Court.

As Ranson City Manager Andy Blake has publicly indicated, Rockwool must have utility service in order to obtain and keep the vertical building permit for its 21 story smokestacks. Rockwool’s Jefferson Orchards farmland site does not have sewer service, or an approved plan to get sewer service.  The lawsuit filed today against the City of Ranson asks the Circuit Court to direct Ranson to follow its own requirements and revoke the vertical building permit, and stop construction, because it is not supported by the underlying requirements.

Jefferson County Vision Board Member Shaun Amos commented:  “The City of Ranson must comply with the law, and revoke Rockwool’s building permit. However, Rockwool executives continue to stick their heads in a sinkhole, avoiding the reality around them: their plan to build toxic smokestacks by schools is opposed by our entire region. All of the secret ‘promises’ Rockwool got from the State have disappeared. There’s no PILOT tax handout, no water line subsidy, no Potomac Pipeline gas, and the people of Charles Town refuse to finance an industrial sewer. “

Link to Filing: https://drive.google.com/file/d/11M8j4My_iCjuGRHdaUrTK_U3avrDWM7P/view?fbclid=IwAR3nfwz1pvzVAajjNFsVkZaQ8j5CvBn03PZ-yEgfgNDMEX2-lxYO_3gbvWI