Shale Quarry Blues: Photoblog

Tracking Mud 11-Jan-2006
There are now at least 2, perhaps 3, different contractors quarrying shale. Here is the road in front of our house after only 1 day of this activity.

Muddy Runoff 18-Dec-2005
... They suggested that we could sue the owner; we suggested that they should fix their 'features'.

Muddy Runoff 18-Dec-2005
We called the 800 number on the NPDES Storm Water sign to complain about the muddy water coming off this site, running down the road, and depositing road gravel onto our pastures. ...

Runoff 04-Dec-2005
In the fall of 2005 activity picked up. For about 6 weeks, 5 or 6 days a week, 1 or 2 trucks, for 6 - 8 hours per day they have been quarrying shale. Here you see erosion that has been caused by storm water runoff coming out of this site. So much for their 'features'.

Storm Water Compliance 'Features' 27-Jul-2005
Here are two signs they added. Note how even though they are only 100 feet apart they refer to this shale quarry by two different names.

Storm Water Compliance 'Features' 27-Jul-2005
In early 2005 the shale quarry owner, with the assistance of WVDOH, submitted a Notice Of Intent to WVDEP to work under the Construction Storm Water WV/NPDES General Permit. This was granted by WPDEP with the required contacting of WVSHPO. As part of this they added the detention pool 'feature' seen here. Note that prior to this there had been about a year of very little quarrying activity at the site.

WV DOH Shale Use 26-Apr-2002
The DOH used the 200 truckloads of shale that they took February 25 - March 1. It is our contention that this use is not simply "unspecified materials used as fill," as DEP contends, but rather this shale is being used specifically because the properties of shale make it suitable for use as roadbed and as road surface.

Shale Quarry 18-Apr-2002
This is the view from our upper veranda. It gives a good overview of this shale quarry and how much of the mountain they are removing. The area being quarried has expanded in the last several years.

Contractor Use 18-Apr-2002
This is one of the several individuals that have taken shale recently. The area he is taking from has "blue shale" that is desired as a nice-looking driveway surface.

WV DOH Equipment 03-Apr-2002
The DOH dropped off this dozer after they had taken about 200 truckloads of shale for use on Kump Road (see next picture). DEP used this dozer and one truck for several days to dump shale elsewhere on the owner's property. It is our understanding that DOH dumps 1 load for the owner for every 4 that they take.