To formally protest the actions of the Pocahontas County Solid Waste Authority (SWA) and the County Commission, the provided sources indicate that your complaint must be directed to the Public Service Commission of West Virginia (PSC), which serves as the state-level regulatory body with the power to investigate, suspend rate hikes, and order local public hearings.
Here is the process and the specific arguments you can use to build your formal letter of protest based on the provided documents:
Process for Filing the Protest
- The 30-Day Window: You must file the formal protest within 30 days of the SWA officially publishing its public notice of the rate changes.
- Gather 20 Signatures: To force the state to take action, you should collect at least 20 signatures from actual "aggrieved customers" (Pocahontas County residents who pay the fees). Under WV Code §24-2-11, this legally upgrades your complaint to a "substantial protest," making an investigation and a mandatory decision timeline highly likely.
- Request a Local Hearing: Under WV Code §24-2-4a(c), you must explicitly request that the PSC hold a "field hearing" locally in Marlinton, rather than in Charleston, so state commissioners can hear directly from affected citizens.
- Mailing: Send the letter via "Certified Mail, Return Receipt Requested" so you have legal proof of the exact date the state received your protest.
Reasons for Protest to Include in Your Letter
1. Improper Meeting Conduct, Notice, and Agenda Publication You can formally protest the "secretive" nature of the SWA’s proceedings. For example, during the critical March 19, 2026, special meeting—where massive, long-term financial decisions were being made regarding "Free Day" regulations and Green Box operations—the SWA deliberately excluded a slot for public comment from the agenda.
2. Monopolist Collusion and Unlawful Contracting The protest should highlight severe anti-competitive practices between the government bodies and private entities:
- No Competitive Bidding: The SWA approved a 15-year, $5 million to $6 million "lease-to-own" agreement with a private contractor (Jacob Meck / Allegheny Disposal) to build and operate the transfer station without opening the project to public bidding.
- Forced Monopoly (Flow Control): The SWA is passing a "Flow Control" ordinance that creates a government-mandated monopoly. It strictly prohibits both commercial haulers and private citizens from transporting their own trash to cheaper out-of-county landfills, forcing every ounce of waste through the new, unbid transfer station to ensure its financial viability.
- Shady Land Transfers: There are plans to deed acres of the publicly owned landfill to a private entity or the Greenbrier Valley Economic Development Corporation (GVEDC) without proper public mandate.
3. Improper Exclusion of Public Representatives The SWA is making 15-year, multi-million dollar commitments while its board is operating short-handed due to the resignation of member Ed Riley. Despite public outcry and demands for the County Commission to appoint a taxpayer advocate (Angela Fisher) to represent the citizens, the Commission has claimed their "hands are tied" regarding SWA oversight, leaving the public effectively unrepresented during these massive financial votes.
4. Attempts to Annul State Mandates and Deprive Citizens of Benefits The SWA is planning to eliminate the residential "Free Day" on July 1, 2026, as a cost-saving measure. This is a direct violation of West Virginia Code §22-15-7, which legally mandates that all operating landfills provide one free disposal day per month. By attempting to override state law locally, the SWA is unlawfully depriving vulnerable, fixed-income citizens of an essential state-mandated benefit six months before the landfill even officially closes.
5. Loss of Affordable Public Accommodations (Sanitary Landfill) The transition plan places an "undue burden" (a violation of WV Code §24-2-2) on the local population by removing an affordable public accommodation.
- To pay the $16,759 monthly lease to the private contractor, the SWA plans to skyrocket residential "Green Box" fees from $135 to between $310 and $600 a year.
- Furthermore, the SWA has proposed an "unfair" expansion of this fee, attempting to charge citizens for every deeded parcel of land they own—including empty farms and unimproved lots that generate absolutely zero waste.
- This fee hike is being pushed despite the SWA already sitting on over $350,000 in unrestricted cash reserves that could be used to subsidize the transition.
Mailing Address for the Protest
According to the official protest template provided in the sources, your letter and signatures must be sent to the Public Service Commission, as they are the state body that oversees and investigates these rate and service changes:
TO: Executive Secretary Public Service Commission of West Virginia 201 Brooks Street, P.O. Box 812 Charleston, WV 25323
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Two issues to look at. First, the SWA claims that the statutorily mandated "Free Day" is only required of landfills, not transfer stations. However, we would still have a landfill were it not for our SWA's mismanagement. Moreover, most Counties have landfills, and therefore their residents have access to "free days". Ending Pocahontas County''s "free day" would unjustly discriminate against Pocahontas County residents>
ReplyDeleteSecond issue to watch. It is a fact that the "green box fee" system as forced private users to subsidize the landfill for the benefit of the commercial haulers. This indisputably true because a larger percentage of the landfill's income derives from Green Box fees, than the percentage of the trash that comes in through the green boxes.
We must now see if the SWA proposes to raise the already excessive Green Box fee by a larger percentage than it raises the commercial tipping fee.